In this case the House of Lords established the principles with regard to the word 'alteration' in the VAT legislation. In particular, it was noted that the word 'structural' did not appear in the legislation as a modifier of the word 'alteration'. It was held that work will qualify as an alteration to the building as long as it affects the structure of the building to some material extent - the work needs only to exceed that which could be described as de minimis. The size of the building is irrelevant in determining whether an alteration is de minimis.
