In Mouldsdale t/a Mouldsdale Properties v HMRC [2023] UKSC 12 (22 March 2023) the Supreme Court (SC) decided that the anti-avoidance provisions in VATA 1994 Sch 10 paras 12 to 17 did not prevent VAT from being chargeable on a sale of property the seller had opted to tax. The seller must therefore account for VAT on the selling price.
The case concerned the VAT treatment of the sale of property the seller had opted to tax and let to a connected tenant that made exempt supplies. The property was sold to a third party with the benefit of the existing lease. It was common ground that the sale did not meet the conditions in The Value Added Tax (Special Provisions) Order SI 1995/1268 Article 5 for outside the scope of VAT treatment as a transfer of a going concern because the buyer had not opted to tax...