EIM21672 - Particular benefits: subsidised meals on the employer's premises or in a canteen
Section 317 ITEPA 2003
The Section 317 ITEPA 2003 exemption (see
EIM21671) applies if all employees of
the employer concerned may obtain a free or subsidised meal. There
is no requirement that all the employees actually do obtain meals,
whether frequently or infrequently. The
opportunity for all employees, at some time or
other, to get a free or subsidised meal is enough to meet the terms
of the exemption. However, if that opportunity is not open to all
the employees, that is some employees do get the opportunity to
have a free or subsidised meal but others do not, the exemption
does not apply, unless those others are given free or subsidised
meal vouchers.
For employers with more than one site, the exemption applies
if all employees have the opportunity to enjoy a free or subsidised
meal. It may be that free or subsidised meals are not available at
every site, but if an employee at a site where the facility is not
available could enjoy a free or subsidised meal if they were
visiting one of their employer’s sites where the facility is
available, the terms of the exemption are satisfied.
Note also that the exemption applies to meal vouchers
only to the extent that those vouchers are tickets
or tokens
used to obtain meals on the employer's business
premises or in a canteen open to the employees generally. It does
not apply to meal vouchers used to get meals elsewhere. Such meal
vouchers are the subject of a separate exemption (see
EIM16210).
The exemption covers most of the ways in which a company
might provide free or subsidised meals for its directors or
employees, either in a canteen or on the business premises, so long
as meals or meal vouchers are available for the staff generally. If
the exemption applies then
all meals on a reasonable scale (see
EIM21671) provided on the employer's
premises are exempt from tax. This means that if all employees may
get a free or subsidised meal on the employer's premises or in a
canteen, or meal vouchers, then working lunches on a reasonable
scale, provided on the employer's premises, will also be exempt
even if not all of the employees get the working lunches.
See
EIM21673 for examples of how the
exemption works in practice.
