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Fish Scales to Fortune: Anti-Ageing Drink Loses Tax Battle
22 Sep
Summary
- Beauty company lost a £3.6m tax fight with HMRC.
- The company claimed its fish-scale anti-ageing drink was 'food'.
- A judge ruled the drink is not 'food for human consumption'.
Minerva Research Labs Ltd, a London-based beauty company, has unsuccessfully challenged HMRC in a £3.6 million tax dispute. The company, founded in 2009 by Tony Sanguinetti, produces the best-selling UK collagen drink, Gold Collagen Pure, using fish scales and cow hides. Minerva sought a VAT refund, arguing its products should be zero-rated as 'food' due to their nutritional content.
However, a tax tribunal judge rejected this claim. The ruling highlighted that the products are marketed as 'liquid beauty supplements' and are purchased for their cosmetic and anti-ageing benefits. Factors such as using terms like 'dose' and 'treatment', and requiring age restrictions, were indicative of a medicine rather than food.
The tribunal acknowledged the collagen products provide nourishment, supplying a percentage of daily protein requirements. Despite this, the judge concluded that the products' primary purpose and marketing made them fall outside the definition of 'food for human consumption'. The company's bid to reclassify its products and avoid the substantial tax bill was therefore denied.
