VAT focus: TOGCs and VAT groups

In Intelligent Managed Services Ltd [2013] UKFTT 741 (TC) IMSL transferred its business – broadly owning maintaining and operating IT infrastructure and providing support to banking operations – to Virgin Money Management Services Ltd (VMMSL) a member (but not the representative member) of the Virgin Money VAT group. HMRC disputed whether there was an ongoing business at the time of the transfer but more importantly argued that as all supplies subsequently made by VMMSL were within the Virgin Money VAT group for VAT purposes no business was carried on by VMMSL.

Even though the Virgin Money VAT group presumably would have been partly exempt and so a deemed self-supply would have arisen because of...