Esporta: VAT on recovered membership fees

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has now handed down its decision in HMRC v Esporta and has allowed HMRC’s appeal that all membership payments received by Esporta should be subject to VAT.

In that case Esporta signed members up for a minimum period of 12 months (‘the commitment period’). A member could pay for membership up-front or they could pay by monthly instalments in advance. The member received an electronic pass that gave access to use the facilities. If a monthly subscription went unpaid the electronic pass would be deactivated and the member would not be able to access the gym. If the member bought arrears up to date the card would be reactivated.

The terms and conditions of membership stated that Esporta had...