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F & I Services Ltd, R (On The Application Of) v Customs & Excise, Court of Appeal - Administrative Court, April 14, 2000, [2000] EWHC Admin 327




Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London WC2A 2LL

Friday 14th April 2000
B e f o r e

THE HON. MR JUSTICE CARNWATH

R -V- COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS AND EXCISE
EX PARTE F & I SERVICES LTD

AND

F & I SERVICES LIMITED
-V-
COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS AND EXCISE

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(Transcript of the Handed Down Judgment of
Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 180 Fleet Street
London EC4A 2HD
Tel No: 0171 421 4040 0171 421 4040, Fax No: 0171 831 8838
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
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Mr Michael Kent QC and Mr Rupert Anderson (instructed by Solicitors of HM Customs and Excise New Kings Beam House 22 Upper Ground London SE1 9PJ) appeared on behalf of HM Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

Mr Roderick Cordara QC and Miss Perdita Cargill-Thompson (instructed by Messrs Hutchinson Mainprice & Co, 80- Ebury Street London SW1W 9QD appeared on behalf of F & I Services Ltd
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Judgment
As Approved by the Court

Crown Copyright ©



The Hon. Mr Justice Carnwath:

Part I - The Appeal
Introduction

I have before me an appeal from a decision of the VAT Tribunal (Mr Nicol and Mr Khan) dated 26th February 1999. (The related application for judicial review against the Commissioners of Customs and Excise will be considered in Part II.) The facts relevant to the appeal are fully set out in the Tribunal's decision and it is unnecessary to do more than summarise them.
The appeal concerned a proposed scheme, whereby books of vouchers would be sold to car dealers for them to offer to purchasers of cars. Each voucher was for a specified sum which could be used towards the purchase of goods or services with a named retailer (for instance The Sock Shop or Harvester Restaurants), or of mechanical breakdown insurance provided through the car dealer. The total nominal value of the vouchers in each book was approximately £2,200. They were sold to car dealers for the price of £10.40 each, and by the car dealers to their customers at a nominal price of £300, included as part of the overall price of the car (there is a dispute whether it represents the true price for the vouchers). The scheme was devised by the appellants ("F&I") who had an established business relationship with a car dealer network. They arranged for a company called Entertainment Publications Ltd ("EP") to design and produce the voucher booklet and to contract with the retailers named in the vouchers. It was accepted by F&I that VAT was chargeable on the supply of books to the car-dealers, but it was hoped to avoid...
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