»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp

• it will have several pages;
• it will have a cover that is stiffer than the pages;
• it will either be bound or adapted for inclusion in a ring-binder.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp first two of these points are self-explanatory. However, some clarification on the third point follows.

Binding and ring binding

We consider that it is the act of binding that makes a collection of papers into a complete book. This can take place either by traditional book-binding, or by the issue of a ring- bound book. We therefore allow zero-rating for:

• complete sets of loose leaves, adapted for inclusion in a binder of the customer’s choice;
• a binder (titled or untitled) which is supplied in conjunction with the complete loose leaf pages of a book;
• a binder bearing the exact title of the book it is intended to contain, but supplied independently of the book itself - provided the book is complete when the binder is issued, loose-leafed, and incapable of existence without its binder.

Two Tribunal decisions deal with the issue of loose-leaf books and ring binders.

• In A E Walker [1973] VATTR 8, a ring binder was supplied bearing the title of a loose-leaf workshop manual, which would be inserted into it. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp tribunal ruled that the ring binder was eligible for relief and this is reflected in our policy as above. However, the decision includes a statement which can be used to argue for an extension of zero-rating to other component parts of books.
• »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp tribunal in Marshall Cavendish Ltd [1973] VATTR 65 qualified the A E Walker decision. This tribunal considered a binder which was supplied subsequent to the issue of the first part of a magazine series, with the intention of holding later issues to form a set. It ruled that the binder was not an essential part of a book and that although it might later become part of a book, this was not the case when it was issued. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp binder was thus standard-rated, although the magazines could be zero-rated as periodicals in their own right.