Whether particular activities are conducted in such a way as to
amount to a trade is essentially a question of fact. There is
detailed guidance at
BIM20050 onwards. At the margin the
issue can call for fine judgement.
There are commercial deputising services that do carry on a
trade and these can offer comparison.
At their most rudimentary, some co-operatives appear to have
minimal organisation, providing little more than the administrative
minimum to achieve reciprocal arrangements between the parties;
somewhat like those found in ‘baby sitting circles’, at
a price designed to do no more than cover costs. You will need to
form a judgement as to whether the activities are conducted in such
a way that a body of Commissioners would find them to amount to
trading.
