The Serpentine Trust Ltd v HMRC concerned the VAT treatment of ‘donations’ made by four friends schemes to the Serpentine Gallery, which provided the donors with benefits from the gallery. The First-tier Tribunal decided that the ‘donations’ were consideration for the standard rated supplies of the benefits. Applying Tron Theatre, the full amount paid for the benefits was the taxable amount subject to VAT, irrespective of their value and any ‘donative intent’. The tribunal rejected, inter alia, the trust’s argument that the supplies were multiple, not composite, and accordingly zero-rated or exempt in part: it is arguable that it is this element of the decision which is most open to challenge.
