VAT on pies

[OwlHoot]

I gather VAT is to be levied on pies and suchlike sold warmer than the ambient temperature.

Surely the solution is simple - Sell the food stone cold, but provide two or three microwave ovens in front of the counter, which customers can use to warm their pies.

[BrilloPad]

IMO vat on pies is a good thing. It might get MF to eat more lettuce.

And what happens if you wait for your "hot" pasty to cool before leaving the shop? What temperature does it have to be to become hot on the tax scale.

[Robinho]

They should just VAT everything.

Keep it simple, stupid.

[BrilloPad]

They should just VAT everything.

Keep it simple, stupid.

Or maybe unVAT everything and stimulate the import of foreign goods. Hang on.....

[amcdonald]

And on bacon sarnies on cycle to work days, one of the hidden stealth taxes of the budget

[Zoiderman]

And on bacon sarnies on cycle to work days, one of the hidden stealth taxes of the budget

I think they should make the shops around 88 degrees and then they fulfill the ambient temp rule.

Simple really.

Maybe health clubs could do it as a sideline with a stall in the sauna or something.

[d000hg]

I gather VAT is to be levied on pies and suchlike sold warmer than the ambient temperature.

Surely the solution is simple - Sell the food stone cold, but provide two or three microwave ovens in front of the counter, which customers can use to warm their pies.

They had that MoneyBox guy discussing this on BBC today. Microwaves are a non-starter apparently.

Many places ask if you want your sausage roll "hot or cold" but this whole ambient thing is ridiculous. If your heating breaks in winter you might suddenly have to add VAT on chilly days.

I suppose it will create lots of jobs for meat pie temperature inspectors.

[NotAllThere]

I recall a guy who sold bagels who won a case over this issue. HMRC said that because the bagels were hot when they came out of the oven, they should be taxed as hot takeaway food. The bagel seller said that they were hot as part of the cooking procedure but were often sold cold.

I've found a kind of reference to this:

The notice issued by HMRC distinguishes between food sold specifically for consumption while it is still hot, which is a catering supply, and food that is warm because it is freshly baked but is not intended to be eaten while hot. The latter would be a zero rated sale of food, as would a sale of food that is cold or chilled when purchased.

This distinction was considered by a Tribunal in a situation where toasted bagels were heated so as to give a crisp inner texture, but not with the intention that they would be consumed by customers while they were still warm. The bagels cooled rapidly and were often bought by customers for consumption later. They were held not to have been supplied as hot take-away food.

The same conclusion was reached by a Tribunal considering the VAT treatment of the sale of “ciabatta melts” to take away. Although they were sold while still warm, the reason for keeping them warm was to attain optimum freshness and to provide a pleasant aroma in the shops. They were not necessarily intended to be eaten while still hot.

On the other hand, a Tribunal that considered the VAT status of take-away pizzas found this to be a supply of catering and therefore liable to VAT at the standard rate. After baking, the pizzas were kept hot and were then delivered as soon as possible. They were advertised as piping hot in the company’s marketing literature and it was therefore clear that the intention of the vendor was to sell hot take-away food.

On this basis, pies are hot, but sausage rolls and pasties may not be. Just goes to show that the drafting of the original law on VAT on hot takeaway food wasn't properly thought through.

[oscarose]

No VAT on hairy pies

[Sands of Time]

I personally hate microwaved pastry.



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