The case was brought by United Biscuits, the owner of McVitie’s, which argued that the new Blissfuls biscuit range should be zero rated for VAT as the chocolate was a filling, not a layer on the outside of the biscuit.

The issue at stake for the tribunal was a narrow one, essentially whether the product was partly covered with chocolate.

The first sales of the biscuits were made in January 2022 and the appellants appealed to the tribunal in February 2022 disputing HMRC’s VAT position.

To kick off proceedings, the tribunal described the biscuit in detail, stating that ‘it consisted of a biscuit cup with a flat bottom base, approximately 44mm in diameter and 9.5mm in height. It has a layer of chocolate hazelnut, a layer of chocolate and a a McVitie’s logo made of biscuit on top’.

The