Westow Cricket Club v HMRC

In Westow Cricket Club v HMRC [2021] UKUT 23 (TCC) (10 February 2021) the Upper Tribunal (UT) overturned the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) finding that the taxpayer had a reasonable excuse for issuing a zero-rating certificate because it had an honest belief that the works qualified and the objective circumstances around that belief made it a reasonable one to hold.

Westow Cricket Club (WCC) is a community cricket club that was at the relevant time a community amateur sports club (CASC). It instructed builders to build a new sports pavilion. It had sought guidance from HMRC as to whether the supplies of building work to it could be zero-rated. HMRC replied that its policy prevented it from providing a ‘definitive response’ because the point was covered by a public notice (namely VAT notice 708). However the HMRC response also stated that ‘provided the pavilion...

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