A judge has recognised the extraordinary circumstances attached to shooting sports in his ruling in favour of BASC. The organisation was appealing against a ruling that imposed VAT on part of its income, which had previously been tax exempt.

To qualifiy for the exemption BASC had to prove that it was essential to the sport it represents. Previously, it had been argued that to be essential BASC had to provide the guns, birds, land and other necessities for shooting, but this was overturned.

Judge Bishopp, sitting in Manchester, said of BASC: “In my judgement, it is an inescapable conclusion that, without its campaigning, advisory, educational and land management activities, sporting shooting in the United Kingdom, in all its
forms, would be of materially poorer quality, and in some forms might not exist at all.”

The legal victory could have far-reaching implications for many other associations in the UK if they can prove they are equally “essential” to the sports they represent.

The rest of this article appears in 6th October issue of Shooting Times.

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