When are public bodies acting under a special legal regime?

The Upper Tribunal’s decision in HMRC v Chelmsford CC is an important contribution to the law on special legal regimes for the purposes of article 13 of the PVD. The decision applies the well-established CJEU case law to conclude that all of the legal conditions under which a public body performs activities must be considered so as to determine whether the activities are performed by the public body ‘acting as such’ pursuant to a special legal regime. Just because a public body only has a power to engage in activities does not exclude a special legal regime. All of the functions and duties of the body which are relevant to the activities must be considered so as to determine whether it is in a different position from a private operator doing the same activities. The decision offers some scope for other public bodies to argue that they are not taxable...