Not a ‘Blissful’ result for McVitie’s…
Does your organisation’s canteen or restaurant sell McVities’ Blissfuls biscuits? If so, you might find the recent VAT ruling about the snack interesting…
22 November 2023
HMRC recently won a case against United Biscuits, owners of McVitie’s, for the treatment of their Blissfuls biscuit to be standard rated. United Biscuits argued that the biscuits were not topped with chocolate, rather that the biscuit logo on top created another layer, essentially making the chocolate a filling and therefore the biscuit should be zero-rated.
The Tribunal sided with HMRC stating that the since the logo did not cover the full area, the biscuit was therefore partially covered by a layer of chocolate and should be treated as a standard rated supply.
And so, McVitie’s must now decide whether to increase prices by 20% or absorb the VAT cost as a result of the ruling. The decision shows the changing and complex nature of VAT, and how easily the cookie can crumble in favour of HMRC…
For your NHS-related VAT questions, please speak to one of our experts.