Market leading insight for tax experts
View online issue

The Teacake Saga Nears Its End

 
David Milne QC 1 Pump Court Tax Chambers charts the history of M&S's claim for a refund of VAT overpaid on teacakes which has finally resulted in the ECJ ruling in favour of M&S
 
With the ECJ's judgment in Marks & Spencer plc v HMRC C-309/06 handed down on 10 April 2008 the saga of the (delicious!) chocolate-covered marshmallow teacakes hopefully nears its close. It is worth recapping on the history of this litigation which stemmed from the early 1990s when perhaps as a result of the late Charles Potter QC's famous decision in 1991 that a 'Jaffa cake' was indeed a (zero-rated) chocolate-covered cake and not a (standard-rated) chocolate-covered biscuit Customs agreed in 1994 that chocolate-covered marshmallow teacakes should have been zero-rated ever since...
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content.
If you are already a subscriber, sign in
Alternatively, you can register free of charge to read a limited amount of subscriber content per month.
Once you have registered, you will receive an email directing you back to read this article in full.
EDITOR'S PICKstar
Top