So let’s get this straight…

After today’s VAT changes:

a) If you walked into a pasty shop and bought a pasty that has been kept hot in a cabinet (or in foil, or on a hot plate, or whatever), then you WOULD pay VAT.

b) If instead that pasty had come straight out of the oven, then you WOULD NOT pay VAT.

c) If the pasty was cold, or had been left to cool, you WOULD NOT pay VAT.

d) If the pasty was cold, and then reheated in an oven or microwave before being handed over, then you WOULD pay VAT.

e) If the pasty was being kept hot in a cabinet when you ordered it, and then it was taken out to cool before being handed to you, would you pay VAT or not? It wouldn’t have cooled naturally from exiting the oven, as the government seems to specify — but it has been left to cool, after all.