This is what happens when people don’t pass brown envelopes full of money to the government.
What they get up to when there is nothing else to do…
>HMRC
>
>[VFOOD6200](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-food/vfood6200):
>
>*Flapjacks*
>
>It is our policy that there is a difference between flapjacks and cereal bars. This policy development arose because, at the inception of VAT, flapjacks were widely accepted as cakes, and cereal bars were not widely available, if at all. Flapjacks were accepted as being a cake of common perception and widespread home-baking, not because of any specific reasoning behind such factors as their recipe, ingredients or the manufacturing process.
>
>However, since that time, the difference between flapjacks and cereal bars has narrowed due to the development of cereal bars and their current proliferation on the market. The amendment to the law in 1988 was made to bring products, particularly cereal bars, within the scope of the standard rate by defining confectionery as sweetened items of prepared food normally eaten with the fingers. As a result cereal bars were standard-rated as long as they are sweetened.
>
>The problem that has arisen is that a flapjack is, historically, accepted as a cake, but should probably now be categorized as a cereal bar, and therefore standard-rated, within the legislation.
>
>*VAT treatment of flapjacks*
>
>We therefore define flapjack narrowly, as it is intended to only apply to that product as it was at the inception of VAT. We allow the zero-rating of standard flapjacks along with minor variations, for example when ingredients like dried fruit, raisins, chocolate chips etc are added. We view the addition of toppings similarly, such as with a layer of chocolate or yoghurt.
>
>We draw the line between flapjacks and cereal bars at any alteration to a flapjack that takes it into the category of being a cereal bar. We interpret this with our policy that a traditional flapjack consists solely of oats. The addition of other cereals to the product turns it into a cereal bar, as it is no longer a traditional flapjack.
>
>It is difficult to draw a borderline between the two products, as flapjacks could easily be viewed as cereal bars. However, the above policy is, we believe, fair and reasonable while being consistent with the law and with the development of the policy since the inception of VAT.
>
>More recently, this borderline was examined by the tribunal in the case of Torq Ltd (V.19389). This case considered a cereal bar that was claimed to be either similar to a flapjack or a cake. Accordingly it is relevant to this subject area.
Pfft next thing they’ll be saying some Bananas aren’t bendy enough
Have we solved the big problems like removing the Tory Party yet?
The documents produced at the hearing included a 1980s edition of *Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management*: see paragraph 60(1)(e).
And at paragraph 60(3)(b):
> The Tribunal is satisfied that the ordinary person would consider the archetypal circumstances of consumption of an archetypal cake to be as follows. It is something normally eaten sitting down, for instance as the dessert course of a meal or at an afternoon tea. It might also be eaten standing up, for instance from a paper napkin and/or a paper plate, at a casual social function such as a workplace celebration of a colleague’s birthday. Cakes can of course be bought and eaten as a snack while on the go, but the ordinary person would not consider this to be the typical way in which they are consumed.
Too chewy to be classed as a cake but still more fit to be PM than Boris Johnson.
The people who have control of how much money to make as long as others agree what it’s worth forcing people to give bits of it back with almost every transaction and people thinking that’s just normal will never not be weird to me.
Finally! We all like to criticize our institutions from time to time or continually but at last one has come out against the namby pamby political correctness which has been pushed on us for FAR TOO LONG vis a vis this traditional hard working family food and millions of others like it which some of us have been fighting against for years. Hurrah for common sense!
A sensible enough application of this rule, but I’m still not sure why we even tax cakes separately from sweets and biscuits.
> They added: “If held up to a group of contestants in a game where a point is awarded to the first contestant to call out correctly what the object is, the tribunal is satisfied that the majority of contestants would say spontaneously that the product is a ‘bar’, or a ‘fruit bar’, or an ‘energy bar’.”
Finally, Jaffa Cakes are proved to be biscuits using the legally-accepted object verification game.
Walkers crisps used to have VAT on them, but right next to them, Walkers Dorritos, no VAT – as noticed in The COSTCO’s
Also porridge oats, no VAT.
Looks to see if it’s April 1st.
I always thought of them more like solid porridge than cakes.
But are they absorbing enough to be an alternative to sanitary towels?
I recently learnt Americans don’t have flapjacks and what they call flapjacks are pancakes.
I like how this is the only non depressing piece of news today
16 comments
This is what happens when people don’t pass brown envelopes full of money to the government.
What they get up to when there is nothing else to do…
>HMRC
>
>[VFOOD6200](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-food/vfood6200):
>
>*Flapjacks*
>
>It is our policy that there is a difference between flapjacks and cereal bars. This policy development arose because, at the inception of VAT, flapjacks were widely accepted as cakes, and cereal bars were not widely available, if at all. Flapjacks were accepted as being a cake of common perception and widespread home-baking, not because of any specific reasoning behind such factors as their recipe, ingredients or the manufacturing process.
>
>However, since that time, the difference between flapjacks and cereal bars has narrowed due to the development of cereal bars and their current proliferation on the market. The amendment to the law in 1988 was made to bring products, particularly cereal bars, within the scope of the standard rate by defining confectionery as sweetened items of prepared food normally eaten with the fingers. As a result cereal bars were standard-rated as long as they are sweetened.
>
>The problem that has arisen is that a flapjack is, historically, accepted as a cake, but should probably now be categorized as a cereal bar, and therefore standard-rated, within the legislation.
>
>*VAT treatment of flapjacks*
>
>We therefore define flapjack narrowly, as it is intended to only apply to that product as it was at the inception of VAT. We allow the zero-rating of standard flapjacks along with minor variations, for example when ingredients like dried fruit, raisins, chocolate chips etc are added. We view the addition of toppings similarly, such as with a layer of chocolate or yoghurt.
>
>We draw the line between flapjacks and cereal bars at any alteration to a flapjack that takes it into the category of being a cereal bar. We interpret this with our policy that a traditional flapjack consists solely of oats. The addition of other cereals to the product turns it into a cereal bar, as it is no longer a traditional flapjack.
>
>It is difficult to draw a borderline between the two products, as flapjacks could easily be viewed as cereal bars. However, the above policy is, we believe, fair and reasonable while being consistent with the law and with the development of the policy since the inception of VAT.
>
>More recently, this borderline was examined by the tribunal in the case of Torq Ltd (V.19389). This case considered a cereal bar that was claimed to be either similar to a flapjack or a cake. Accordingly it is relevant to this subject area.
Pfft next thing they’ll be saying some Bananas aren’t bendy enough
Have we solved the big problems like removing the Tory Party yet?
[*Glanbia Milk Ltd v HMRC*](https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKFTT/TC/2022/TC08439.html) [2022] UKFTT 108 (TC) – full judgment.
The documents produced at the hearing included a 1980s edition of *Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management*: see paragraph 60(1)(e).
And at paragraph 60(3)(b):
> The Tribunal is satisfied that the ordinary person would consider the archetypal circumstances of consumption of an archetypal cake to be as follows. It is something normally eaten sitting down, for instance as the dessert course of a meal or at an afternoon tea. It might also be eaten standing up, for instance from a paper napkin and/or a paper plate, at a casual social function such as a workplace celebration of a colleague’s birthday. Cakes can of course be bought and eaten as a snack while on the go, but the ordinary person would not consider this to be the typical way in which they are consumed.
Too chewy to be classed as a cake but still more fit to be PM than Boris Johnson.
The people who have control of how much money to make as long as others agree what it’s worth forcing people to give bits of it back with almost every transaction and people thinking that’s just normal will never not be weird to me.
Finally! We all like to criticize our institutions from time to time or continually but at last one has come out against the namby pamby political correctness which has been pushed on us for FAR TOO LONG vis a vis this traditional hard working family food and millions of others like it which some of us have been fighting against for years. Hurrah for common sense!
A sensible enough application of this rule, but I’m still not sure why we even tax cakes separately from sweets and biscuits.
> They added: “If held up to a group of contestants in a game where a point is awarded to the first contestant to call out correctly what the object is, the tribunal is satisfied that the majority of contestants would say spontaneously that the product is a ‘bar’, or a ‘fruit bar’, or an ‘energy bar’.”
Finally, Jaffa Cakes are proved to be biscuits using the legally-accepted object verification game.
Walkers crisps used to have VAT on them, but right next to them, Walkers Dorritos, no VAT – as noticed in The COSTCO’s
Also porridge oats, no VAT.
Looks to see if it’s April 1st.
I always thought of them more like solid porridge than cakes.
But are they absorbing enough to be an alternative to sanitary towels?
I recently learnt Americans don’t have flapjacks and what they call flapjacks are pancakes.
I like how this is the only non depressing piece of news today