SE23101 - Car benefits: price of the car as regards a year - list price of a car

Section 168A(1)-(2) ICTA 1988

Before reading the text that follows this paragraph, ensure that you are familiar with

• the general introduction to the calculation of price of a car as regards a year at SE23100
• the flowchart setting out the steps involved in calculating the price of a car as regards a year at SE23100a.

A car has a list price if a price was published by the car's manufacturer, importer or distributor as the inclusive price appropriate for a car of that kind if sold in the United Kingdom singly in a retail sale on the open market on the relevant day (see SE23102 for the meaning of “relevant day” and SE23103 for “inclusive price”).

There has been some discussion in the technical and popular press about whether the price advertised by a car dealer can be used instead of the price published by the car's manufacturer importer or distributor.

Do not accept that

• a car dealer can be regarded as a “distributor”, or
• an importer other than the single authorised importer can be regarded as an “importer”

for the purposes of the legislation at Section 168A ICTA 1988.

Such an interpretation could result in multiple price lists for each car, published by everyone involved right from its original manufacture to its final sale. There is nothing within the structure or language of Section 168A ICTA 1988 to warrant that interpretation. It contains no provision for choosing between different prices for the same type of car as there is only a single list price for each car. To find that single list price we start, as does the legislation, with the manufacturer. It is only in the absence of a list price published by the manufacturer that we need to turn to the importer or finally to the distributor.

See example SE23185 for an example of how the price of a car is calculated.