Turkish Food Supplies Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
| Judge | JOHN WOODMAN |
| Judgment Date | 01 May 2025 |
| Neutral Citation | [2025] UKFTT 496 (TC) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Court | First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) |
| Counsel | Joshua Carey Of Counsel,For |
| Date | 01 May 2025 |
Neutral Citation: [2025] UKFTT 00496 (TC)
Case Number: TC09505
FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL
TAX CHAMBER
Taylor House, London
Appeal reference: TC/2022/00202
IMPORT VAT – imports of bottled water – appellant made advance payments to supplier to
secure a better price – whether the payments were for imports of specific goods – no – not
sufficient for payments to be made in anticipation of future imports of unspecified goods on
unspecified dates – whether imported goods under-declared – no – appeal dismissed for one
import as burden of proof not discharged – appeal otherwise allowed
Heard on: 11 March 2025
Judgment date: 1 May 2025
Before
TRIBUNAL JUDGE RACHEL GAUKE
JOHN WOODMAN
Between
TURKISH FOOD SUPPLIES LIMITED
Appellant
and
THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HIS MAJESTY’S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS
Respondents
Representation:
For the Appellant:Joshua Carey of Counsel, instructed by Rogers & Norton, Solicitors
For the Respondents: Thomas Holt, litigator of HM Revenue and Customs’ Solicitor’s
Office
DECISION
INTRODUCTION
1.The Appellant, Turkish Food Supplies Ltd (“TFS”), appeals against a demand made by
HMRC on 26 May 2021 for import VAT, in an amount that was reduced on review on 1
November 2021 to £121,321.93.
2.TFS’s principal ground of appeal was that although it made payments to its supplier in
excess of the declared import value of the goods, these were advance payments made to
secure a better price and were not for imports of specific goods. As such, according to TFS,
the additional import VAT sought by HMRC was not due.
3.Having considered the submissions and evidence of both parties, we have decided to
allow the appeal against the demandfor £121,321.93. TFS’s appeal against a separate
demand for £972.22 is dismissed. Our reasons are set out below.
HEARINGANDEVIDENCE
4. We had a 1105-page hearing bundle which included the notice of appeal and HMRC’s
statement of case, Tribunal procedural documents, and other relevant documentation
including copies of agreements, invoices, correspondence and company accounts. We had a
separate 616-page authorities bundle of legislation and case law. Some additional authorities
and print-outs of dictionary definitions were handed to us at the hearing.
5. Two witnesses attended the hearing in person: David Wythe, an officer of HMRC, and
Mehmet Kemal, the soledirector and shareholder of TFS. Both witnesses were cross-
examined.
6. We found Officer Wythe tobe a credible and reliable witness. Wealso found Mr
Kemal’s evidence to be credible. Mr Kemal gave his oral evidence through an interpreter,
meaningthatsomequestions needed to be clarified to avoid misunderstanding. Overall
however, the impression we formed of Mr Kemal was that he was eager to convey to the
Tribunal an understanding of how his business works and of the transactions giving rise to
the demand for import VAT.
7. We also had a witness statement from Mehmet Koc, who is a director of Vitan Organik,
a company in Turkey which supplied goods to TFS.The Tribunal gave directions, on 1
August 2024, for HMRC to provide TFS with a list of questions for Mr Koc, and for TFS to
provide HMRC with his responses. Those questions and answers were included in the hearing
bundle. We deal below with the reliance we have placed on this witness statement, and on Mr
Koc’s responses to the questions from HMRC.
8.The hearing bundle also included witness statements from two of TFS’s customers: one
from Enfield Food Centre in Cheshunt, and the other from Enfield Food Centre in Edmonton.
Both are signed although the witnesses’ names are not given in full. HMRC did not dispute
anything in these witness statements, and we accept their contents to be correct.
FINDINGSOFFACT
9.Based on the evidence before us, we make the following findings of fact.
(1)Mr Kemal is the sole director and shareholder of TFS. He moved to England from
Turkey in December 2007, and set up TFS in January 2008.
1
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