No proof

Did sales exceed the registration threshold?

The taxpayer took over the business from his wife in 2009. When HMRC officers visited the premises on Friday 2 November 2012 they counted £630 in cash and £628 in meal vouchers for the day’s trading. This was much higher than declared figures for other Fridays but the taxpayer described this day as ‘a very lucky night … seem to be winning the lottery’. The takings of £174 on 6 August 2014 were 40% higher than the declared average takings for Wednesdays in the previous 40 weeks and a test purchase by an officer on 27 February 2014 was found to be missing from the records.

HMRC concluded that the business had been suppressing sales and had traded over the registration threshold between 2010 and May 2013 when it transferred to new owners. Officers calculated a liability of £34 989 and a late...