The Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health has won a VAT property dispute with HMRC.

The case concerned a disagreement between the two parties as to whether the College, a registered charity with an income of £10m, was obliged to pay VAT on its London headquarters, which it purchased five years ago.

The tribunal has now concluded unanimously in favour of the College.

David Howley, director of corporate services at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, explained to civilsociety.co.uk:

“The College purchased its head office in Theobalds Road in January 2008 and applied for a non-statutory clearance application regarding the VAT associated with this purchase. HMRC issued a ‘preferred decision’ in April 2011 that VAT was applicable which the College appealed against.

“A tribunal was held in February 2013. The outcome of the tribunal on all fronts was found in favour of the College. The two main issues were that the purchase transaction was as a ‘going concern’ and, secondly, that HMRC were out of time to assess the case.”

An HMRC spokesperson said of the outcome: “HMRC is studying the judgment carefully and will decide whether to appeal the decision in due course.”

The full decision can be found on the Finance & Tax Tribunal website here.

Want access to all civilsociety.co.uk content? Subscribers gain access to all expert advice, analysis, surveys, special reports and the full archive of content from as little as £43.20 per year. Find out more...