Section 178

In finding that employees of a parent corporation whose services were provided to a subsidiary had not been retained by the parent as agent for the subsidiary, Slade L.J. noted that only the parent was entitled to enforce the relevant service contracts because the employees had never agreed to serve the subsidiary.

In finding that charges of a firm of solicitors for reimbursement of their railway and air fares constituted, on general principles, part of the consideration for the services provided by them to their clients, Bridge J. stated (p. 448):

"On the one hand a solicitor (like any other agent) may purchase goods or services for its client, as for instance when paying stamp duty, court fees, or buying, say, a travel ticket to enable the client to travel. The goods or services purchased are supplied to the client, not to the solicitor, who merely acts as an agent to make the payment. Naturally no value added tax is payable (if the goods or services in question are themselves exempt or zero-rated) because such payments form no part of the consideration for the solicitor's own services to its client. But on the other hand quite different considerations apply where the goods or services purchased are supplied to the solicitor, as here in the form of travel tickets, to enable him effectively to perform the service supplied to his client ..."