Backdating not allowed

The taxpayer appealed against a decision by HMRC not to backdate its effective date of registration from 1 December 2008 to 1 September 2008 and their refusal to give credit for VAT incurred outside the period of six months before the date of registration.

Planning permission was granted to the taxpayer in August 2007 to develop land as a crazy golf course. This was completed in 2008 and the taxpayer applied to register for VAT from 1 December 2008.

However during 2009 it became clear that input tax had been incurred before the date of registration so the company applied to have its registration backdated so that it could recover the disallowed input tax.

HMRC refused so the taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal found that the appellant had requested that its registration begin from 1 December 2008 although it could have chosen an earlier date ...