Oct 01, 2020 19:00:00

The Supreme Court rules that ``Subway sandwiches are too sweet and are not bread.''

The fast food restaurant

Subway is well-known for its sandwiches made with oval bread and packed with vegetables. In a lawsuit over Subway's main product, sandwiches, the Irish Supreme Court ruled that ``Subway sandwiches are too sweet and cannot be classified as ``bread''.''

Sandwiches in Subway 'too sugary to meet legal definition of being bread' - Independent.ie
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/sandwiches-in-subway-too-sugary-to-meet-legal-definition-of-being-bread-39574778.html

Subway sandwiches do not meet legal definition of being BREAD, Ireland's Supreme Court rules | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8790713/Subway-sandwiches-not-meet-legal-definition-BREAD-Irelands-Supreme-Court-rules.html

The case concerning Subway's sandwiches, in which this judgment was handed down, concerns the value added tax, which is levied on goods, food, services, etc. as an indirect consumption tax. Japan's consumption tax is also classified as value added tax, and 9.2% value added tax was also added to sandwiches sold at Subway stores in Ireland.

However, Ireland's value-added tax system has a 'zero tax rate' system in which the tax rate on goods, food, and services is 0%. This is to exempt value-added tax mainly on necessities that are closely related to people's daily lives.Bread, which is a staple food, is also subject to the zero tax rate, so the value-added tax is 0%. thing.

Bookfinders Ltd., a franchise company that operates Subway stores in Ireland, took note of this point. Bookfinders Ltd. has been in court since 2006 seeking a refund of the value added tax, arguing that ``Subway sandwiches are bread, and as such are subject to the zero tax rate, the value added tax should be 0%.'' It seems like it is.

And 14 years after the start of the trial, Ireland's Supreme Court finally ruled that ``Subway sandwiches are not bread.'' This decision was not based on the judge's impression, but on the fact that the sandwich dough contained too much sugar.

Ireland's Value Added Tax Act defines bread that is subject to the zero tax rate, and bread that is subject to the zero tax rate is bread that is subject to the zero tax rate if the weight of ingredients such as sugar, fat, and dough improvers exceeds 2% of the weight of flour. It is said that this should not be done. This was a standard established to distinguish between bread, which is a staple food, and baked goods, which are personal tastes.

Meanwhile, the judges pointed out that the dough used for Subway sandwiches contained 10% sugar by weight of flour. The court ruled that Bookfinders Ltd's claim for a refund of value-added tax could not be accepted because Subway sandwiches fall outside the definition of bread subject to the zero tax rate.

Although Judge Donal O'Donnell of the Supreme Court dismissed Bookfinders Ltd's appeal, he described the point of view as ``original''.