The sale of
donated goods at auctions, jumble sales or other
venue is not regarded as trading. No liability to tax therefore
arises on the proceeds of these sales even if one of the conditions
of ESCC4 is not met.
Where the organisers charge an entrance fee to people wishing
to sell their own goods at events such as jumble sales and car boot
sales, these events fall within the concession, if
all of the conditions in
BIM24794 are satisfied.
The concession applies to all the profits of the event - and
extends not only to the admission charges but also ancillary
sources of income such as:
Each ancillary source of income must properly form part of the event and must not constitute a separate profit-making activity. If a programme or brochure is primarily a vehicle for advertisements rather than a way of informing people about the event, you should treat it as a separate profit-making activity.
HMRC will decide whether condition (1) applies in individual
cases. The online detailed guidance note
‘Fund raising events: Exemption for charities
and other qualifying bodies’ sets out the general
conditions for VAT exemption for fund-raising events.
If necessary, the charity or voluntary organisation should be
asked to provide confirmation from HMRC that the event is exempt
from VAT under Group 12 of Schedule 19 VAT Act 1994.
You should consider condition (2) of BIM24794 to be satisfied where the profits are donated to well known national and local charities, schools, hospitals and old people's homes, or to individuals to relieve poverty or hardship. You should exercise your discretion in deciding whether other donations fall within the condition.
