Confusion over dates

Date of liability to register for VAT

The taxpayer was in business selling household products. He had taken over the shop in October 2012 but ceased trading in July 2014. HMRC said the taxpayer should have registered for VAT from 1 April 2012 and issued an assessment and a late-registration penalty. There was a dispute about whether the business was a going concern at the time of the transfer but the First-tier Tribunal found that it was. This was because the transferor M stated in the form to cancel his VAT registration that the business was being transferred as a going concern and he had sold all stock and assets to the taxpayer.

The tribunal decided the taxpayer had taken over the business on 12 October 2012 not 1 April 2012 as HMRC claimed. This was because M was still filing VAT returns in the summer and...