Value added tax – Zero-rating. The provision of courses by the tax payer College to students paying subsidised fees was an economic activity carried on by it for the purposes of art 9 of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 (the VAT Directive) and was therefore a business within Sch 8 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the College's appeal against the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) that services provided to the College in the construction of a new building were not zero-rated for VAT purposes. In the course of the judgment, the Court gave guidance, in light of the relevant authorities, on the correct approach to deciding what constituted economic activity.