The decision in the Cadbury Ireland Pension Fund Trust Limited and CMF Trustees Limited and the Revenue Commissioners [2007 IEHC 190], delivered on 24 May 2007, has just come to hand. This case deals with the supply of VAT fourth schedule services.

The taxpayers were pension trustees for Cadbury's pension schemes. The investments were managed by a company established in Scotland. It had been accepted by both parties that the services of the Scottish company had been supplied to the two Irish trustees. The key issue in the case was whether the services, being fourth schedule services, were received by the trustees for the purposes of any business carried on by them.

If so, then the trustees would have been deemed taxable persons and would have had to account for VAT on the services under the reverse charge rules.

There was detailed review of cases, including ECJ cases, which were relevant to determining if the trustees were carrying on a business.

The trustees' functions were of a fiduciary nature, imposed on them by the trust deeds and they received the services of the Scottish company for the purposes of those functions. Therefore the issue was whether those functions constituted business or economic activity.

The High Court ruled that the trustees' functions constituted “business” within the VAT Act and “economic activity” within the meaning of the EU Sixth Directive, and therefore the services were supplied to the trustees for the purposes of business carried on by them.

A more detailed review of the case is available at Section 2.01.