This was an appeal against a decision by HMRC that excess payments on car parking charges by local authorities was subject to VAT.

This appeal concerns the VAT treatment of an ‘overpayment’ for parking at a public authority ‘pay and display’ off-street car park. This is a situation that arises when, for example, a person who wishes to park their car for an hour, for which the tariff is £1.40 and who has only a pound coin and a 50p piece, puts £1.50 into a ticket machine that does not give change. The sole issue to be determined is whether that 10p ‘overpayment’ should be treated as consideration for the supply of parking services and therefore subject to VAT.

In National Car Parks Limited v HMRC [2019] STC 1126 (‘NCP’) the Court of Appeal held that such an overpayment, the 10p in the example, was part of the consideration if provided by a private supplier of car parking services.