Cases - Lower Mill Estate Ltd and Conservation Builders Ltd v Revenue & Customs Comrs

Record details

Name
Lower Mill Estate Ltd and Conservation Builders Ltd v Revenue & Customs Comrs
Date
[2010]
Citation
UKUT 463 (TCC)
Legislation
Keywords
VAT
Summary

Lower Mill Estate sold long leases of individual plots in land.  Each plot had planning permission for the construction of a holiday home which could not be occupied throughout the year. The purchasers then contracted with a builder connected with Lower Mill Estate to build the holiday home.  The sale of the land was standard rated and the construction works largely zero rated. If Lower Mill had constructed the home themselves the sale of the completed holiday home would be standard rated.

HMRC attacked the arrangement by saying there was either a single standard rated supply of a completed holiday home or they were abusive and should be re-defined as a single standard rated supply. The Upper Tribunal held that separate supplies by separate entities could not be combined. It also held there was not abuse as there were good commercial reasons for the arrangements in that they considerably eased funding needs for the developer.