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Chapter CA32312

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date16 April 2016
Record NumberCA32312

You decide whether a building is an office by looking at the activities carried out in it. A building or part of a building that is directly involved in a manufacturing operation or the subjection of goods to a process will not normally be an office. A building occupied by managerial staff or concerned with marketing or administration will be.

In the case of G_irobank plc v Clarke 70TC387_ Nourse L J said that”office, like so many words in our language, is one whose signification varies according to the context in which it is used. It is easier to recognise one than to define what it is.” He gave examples where the term “office” is used to describe the entirety of the premises such as a solicitor’s or accountant’s office and examples where it is used to describe part only of the premises. In the case of Girobankplc v Clarke the Revenue claimed that the bank’s processing centre was an office but the Special Commissioner and the Court of Appeal rejected the claim. The Commissioner found as a fact that the building functioned as a modern light industrial building and the Court of Appeal held that there were no grounds for overturning the Commissioner’s finding of fact. No significant managerial functions were performed in the building.

A building that is called an office may not be an office for the purposes of the IBA legislation. For example, a drawing office attached to a factory may not be an office for IBA purposes, (CIR v Lambhill Ironworks Ltd. 31TC393). Lambhill Ironworks were structural engineers. Their drawing office was held to be an industrial building and not an office or ancillary to an office. A...

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