The five-judge court ruled the bread in Subway’s heated sandwiches falls outside that statutory definition because it has a sugar content of 10pc of the weight of the flour included in the dough.
The Supreme Court has found that the bread in Subway's heated sandwiches has too much sugar in it to meet the legal definition of being bread.
The court ruled that with a high sugar content, the sandwich could not be deemed a staple food which attracts a zero VAT rate.
It rejected arguments by a Subway franchisee that it was not liable for VAT on some of its takeaway products, including teas, coffees and heated filled sandwiches.
The appeal by Bookfinders Ltd, based in Tuam, Co Galway, included consideration of whether the bread sold in Subway sandwiches fell outside the statutory definition of bread intended under the Value-Added Tax Act 1972 to attract a zero VAT rate.
The five-judge court ruled the bread in Subway's heated sandwiches falls outside that statutory definition because it has a sugar content of 10pc of the weight of the flour included in the dough.
The act provides the weight of ingredients such as sugar, fat and bread improver shall not exceed 2pc of the weight of flour in the dough. »
