ORGANISERS of a car boot sale near York have scored a victory for community bric a brac events across the country.

A tax inspector looked at Rufforth Park car boot sale's Facebook page and decided it was 'expertly organised and run' - and demanded £136,000 in tax.

But Rufforth Park director Roger Ginley, 75, who runs the Sunday morning events, said they were doing what they had been doing for 40 years but no special expertise or skill was involved.

He said it was just 'an ordinary car boot sale' and the pitches it rented out were zero rated.

He successfully appealed against the assessment, issued in December 2019, for £82,995 worth of VAT for December 2016 to March 2019. A further assessment of £53,000, for different periods, was dependent on the appeal outcome.

HM Revenue and Customs had argued that Rufforth Park's car boot sale pitch fees should be standard rated because extra goods and services were also offered.

If a licence to occupy a pitch is granted, together with other goods and services so that the overarching supply is of a service, as contended by HMRC, the pitch fees should be standard rated and VAT due.

HMRC said £23,000 worth of advertising over four years to attract buyers for the benefit of stall holders was part of the supply, along with site amenities and capital expenditure improvements which enabled buyers to better enjoy their time at the car boot sale.

Rufforth Park's 'reputation' of running boot sales for 40 years was 'a tangible benefit to stall holders', it added.

It also noted the company’s website said the site included 'a 5 star café … and large toilet facilities'.

Mr Ginley said the '5 stars' referred to the café’s cleanliness, rather than its gourmet menu. The café sells hot drinks, sausage and bacon cobs and chips. There are also two burger vans.

The tribunal heard the toilets included cubicles in a 20-year-old portacabin.

The hearing heard that sellers, including members of the public and traders, pay between £9 and £20 for a pitch, between 8am and 1pm with spaces allocated on arrival. No advance booking is possible, and no tables, electricity or lighting are provided.

There are no formal contracts. Sellers get a receipt setting out conditions. Mr Ginley said the wording had not changed for 40 years.

Siding with Mr Ginley, Judge Marilyn Mckeever concluded: "Rufforth Park’s events are, as Mr Ginley put it, 'an ordinary car boot'. The company has no obligation to put on the events at all. The provision of a car park, basic refreshment facilities and toilets and some cleaning and advertising activities does not alter the overarching nature of the single supply as a supply of a licence to occupy land."