Female baldness ruled a disability in VAT tribunal case

Two Upper Tribunal judges ruled that severe hair loss in women can constitute a disability in a VAT dispute over specialist wigs, and the tribunal reversed a previous First Tier ruling in a case tied to a £277,083.10 tax demand.

Two judges in the Upper Tribunal ruled that severe hair loss in women can amount to a disability in a VAT dispute. The case was brought by Mark Glenn Ltd, run by hair specialist Mark Sharp and Glenn Kinsey, over specialist wigs for women with patchy or widespread hair loss. HMRC had challenged the company's position that the wigs should be zero-rated as aids for disabled people and issued a tax bill for £277,083.10. The Upper Tribunal reversed an earlier First Tier Tribunal decision and considered the social effects of hair loss when assessing disability. Key points: - Judges Swami Raghavan and Kevin Poole concluded that severe hair loss in women can adversely affect the ability to carry out everyday activities because of the distress linked to social expectations about appearance. - The dispute concerned specialist wigs designed to address patchy or widespread hair loss and whether those products qualify for zero-rating as aids for disabled persons. - HMRC had argued baldness was a cosmetic issue; the Upper Tribunal found a broader social-context assessment was appropriate. - The Upper Tribunal reversed the First Tier Tribunal's earlier ruling in this matter. Summary: The ruling affects how specialist hair replacement products for severe female hair loss may be treated for VAT and shows that tribunals can take social context into account when assessing disability. Undetermined at this time.