The High Court has dismissed a €1.048 million VAT refund appeal brought by Cummer Coaches Limited over vehicles used on a scheduled bus service between Galway and Dublin Airport and Dublin city.
Mr Justice Liam Kennedy upheld a Tax Appeal Commissioner's rejection of the company's claim for VAT repayments covering the tax years 2016 to 2019 under the Value-Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (Touring Coaches) Order 2012.
Cummer Coaches operated the route as a subcontractor for a sister company which held the National Transport Authority licence. The company argued that it qualified because most passengers were tourists and it operated under a contract with the licence holder.
The High Court disagreed. It held that the company's business was, properly understood, the operation of a licensed public bus passenger service for members of the public generally, rather than the business of carrying tourists by road under contracts for group transport.
The judge said the route's purpose was to provide an interurban express public service between Galway and Dublin and the airport. Tourists could make up a large proportion of passengers, but that did not change the fundamental nature of the business. The service was available to commuters, business travellers and other members of the public as well.
The court also upheld the Tax Appeal Commissioner's interpretation that the statutory reference to "contracts for group transport" required multiple contracts rather than the single subcontract under which Cummer Coaches operated the route.
Even if the company had qualified under that part of the scheme, Mr Justice Kennedy held that a separate exclusion would still defeat the claim because the coaches were primarily used for a general public transport service rather than for carrying tourists under group contracts.
The judge rejected a proposed test under which the company would qualify if at least half of its passengers were tourists, finding no basis for such a threshold in the legislation.
The appeal was dismissed, with final orders left for a later listing.