Iansyst v HMRC

In Iansyst v HMRC [2016] UKFTT 372 (1 June 2016) the FTT found that supplies of mobile devices for handicapped persons were zero-rated.

HMRC’s decision under appeal was a forward-looking appeal; it did not relate to any actual supplies of mobile devices. However the FTT decided that it could hear the appeal as HMRC’s decision affected the amount of ‘VAT chargeable on the supply of goods’.

VATA 1994 Sch 8 group 12 allows zero-rating for drugs medicines and aids for the handicapped. Item 2(g) includes the supply of equipment and appliances designed solely for use by a handicapped person. Iansyst supplied IT software and hardware for persons with disabilities including visual impairments and persons with dyslexia. For example Capturatalk was a software which (when installed on a mobile phone or tablet computer) read text aloud. The issue was whether these...