Court of Appeal’s decision on News Corp

The Court of Appeal has overturned the Upper Tribunal decision and found against News Corp deciding that the electronic editions of its newspapers did not qualify for zero rating under the legislation in force during News Corp’s claim period – before the VAT law was changed on 1 May 2020 to include digital publications in the zero rating. See CRC v News Corp UK and Ireland Ltd – tinyurl.com/newscorpca.

In its decision handed down on 28 January 2021 the court concluded: ‘The word “newspapers” in item 2 group 3 [VATA 1994 Sch 8] when read in its full context cannot be given the expansive interpretation for which News UK contended. Nor can the principle of fiscal neutrality have the effect of extending the scope of the exemption from standard-rated VAT beyond its expressed limits. The digital news services were not liable to zero rating...