The Pringle, staple food of students and party-goers nationwide, is not a potato crisp, according to the High Court.
The conclusion was reached by Mr Justice Warren after an inquiry in to the ingredients, manufacturer, packaging and public image of the tube-packaged snack.
As a result Pringles are now free of VAT, a decision which should save manufacturers Procter and Gamble millions of pounds a year on UK sales.
The judge allowed an appeal by manufacturers Proctor & Gamble against a VAT Tribunal decision that Pringles should be standard-rated at 17.5% as falling within the definition "potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch".
The conclusion was reached by Mr Justice Warren after an inquiry in to the ingredients, manufacturer, packaging and public image of the tube-packaged snack.
As a result Pringles are now free of VAT, a decision which should save manufacturers Procter and Gamble millions of pounds a year on UK sales.
The judge allowed an appeal by manufacturers Proctor & Gamble against a VAT Tribunal decision that Pringles should be standard-rated at 17.5% as falling within the definition "potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch".
Most foodstuffs are zero-rated for VAT, but Revenue and Customs argued that Pringles fell within the "potato crisp" exception.
Procter & Gamble pointed out that, unlike potato crisps, Pringles had a regular shape "not found in nature" as well as a uniform colouring and texture and a "mouth melt" taste.
Crisps did not contain non-potato flours like Pringles and were not normally packaged in tubes.
And customers did not regard Pringles as potato crisps.
Mr Justice Warren ruled that Pringles were not "made from the potato" within the definition laid down by the 1994 VAT Act.
To fall within the exception, a product "must be wholly, or substantially wholly, made from the potato".
Pringles, he said, were made from potato flour, corn flour, wheat starch and rice flour together with fat and emulsifier, salt and seasoning, with a potato content of
around 42%.
(Telegraph)
P.S. Will the retail price of Pringles come down in shops now that 17.5% VAT does not have to be added?
