TC09555 - [2025] UKFTT 00748 (TC)

Invoices were received from Booker and addressed to Birmingham Hotels rather than 3KH but 3KH claimed the input tax. HMRC did not accept 3KH’s explanation that it was using Birmingham Hotel’s Booker account with Birmingham Hotels acting as agent for 3KH.

Section 47 VATA provides that where goods are supplied through an agent who acts in his own name the supply shall be treated as both a supply to and by the agent. The provisions operates in this way so as to ensure that input tax is claimed by the right invoiced entity and only once. 3KH invite us to allow input tax on an invoice issued by Booker to Birmingham Hotels. The invoices bear no indication that Birmingham Hotels was acting as a disclosed agent for 3KH, we must therefore assume that even if Birmingham Hotels was acting as an agent the agency was undisclosed to Booker. As such for 3KH to be entitled to recover input tax Birmingham Hotels would have needed to issue an invoice to 3KH reflecting the supplies deemed to have been received by it from Booker with Birmingham Hotels claiming as input tax the VAT shown on the Booker invoice. We therefore confirm that HMRC rightly denied the input tax.