In Wildfowl & Wetland Trust v HMRC (TC02817 – 15 August) the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust appealed against an assessment contending that seven of the nine sites which it operated qualified as zoos for the purpose of VATA 1994 Sch 9 Group 13 Item 2. The FTT allowed the appeal in principle. Judge Raghavan observed that the Oxford English Dictionary defined a zoo as ‘a place where wild animals are kept for breeding study or exhibition to the public’. Each of the seven sites was a place ‘where wild animals are kept for public exhibition’ and qualified as a zoo.
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Why it matters: The FTT upheld the trust’s contention that seven of the sites which it operated (including the well-known nature reserve at Slimbridge) qualified as a zoo for the purposes of VATA 1994 Sch 9 Group 13 Item 2.
