A London court ruled that a technical college receiving free courses funded by the UK government must treat the funding as consideration for its taxable supply of services, making it subject to VAT that can be recovered from HMRC. The decision clarifies the tax treatment of government funding for educational services. The ruling was issued on March 27, 2026.
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Key Takeaways
The court ruled that the funding is considered consideration for the college's taxable supply of services, making it subject to VAT recoverable from HM Revenue & Customs.
Yes, the college can recover the VAT from HM Revenue & Customs.
The decision was made by a London court on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Primary source
Read the full article at Law360This summary was published on VATfaqs.com on 28 March 2026. It relates to VAT developments in United Kingdom. The original source is Law360.