Abbotsley and others v HMRC

In Abbotsley and others v HMRC [2018] UKUT 191 (19 June 2018) the UT found that affiliation fees paid by golf clubs were exempt.

The appellants owned golf clubs. They were profit-making organisations registered for VAT. They paid annual affiliation fees to a number of regional and national governing bodies. Affiliation fees were charged to the members but the clubs had to pay the fees irrespective of whether the members paid the club. Around two thirds of members paid but one third did not mainly on the ground that they considered that they did not derive any benefit from the fees. The issue was whether the affiliation fees were subject to VAT.

The FTT had found that the principal service provided by the county unions/associations and England Golf was the management of the CONGU handicapping system which enabled members to have a CONGU...