VAT (European Court Decision)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 3:31 pm on 21 June 1988.

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Photo of Peter Lilley Peter Lilley The Economic Secretary to the Treasury 3:31, 21 June 1988

It is always possible, with the benefit of hindsight, to have 20/20 vision. However, at the time it could have been foreseen that some cases might be brought under those aspects of the legislation specifically stating that any zero rating had to be in respect of a clearer defined social need and for the benefit of the final consumer. It might not necessarily have been possible to predict absolutely the court's ruling on all the items, but to avoid the possibility of any such court cases it would have been necessary at that earlier stage to have agreed to a wider permission in the sixth directive than that to which we assented.