Mechanistic process

Date of VAT registration

The director of the taxpayer applied for voluntary registration to take effect from 1 December 2012. But he did not start charging VAT and declaring output tax until the start of his new financial year on 1 May 2013. HMRC assessed tax of £7 814 on a compliance visit for the five-month period between these dates. The taxpayer appealed. He asked HMRC to cancel the assessment and amend his registration date to 1 May 2013. HMRC refused.

The key issue for the First-tier Tribunal was how the HMRC officer dealt with the taxpayer’s appeal according to the guidance in its manual VAT Registration at VATREG25350. The judge noted that this provided scope for the registration date to be amended. In particular it instructed the reviewing officer to ‘look at each case on its own merits’ and ‘take account of all the relevant factors’. It also stated that the...