Extension of time limit to permit a late appeal

Buckingham Bingo was a bingo operator. A dispute arose because HMRC changed its policy and required taxpayers to account for VAT on a session basis instead of a game-by-game basis. Buckingham Bingo said this resulted in a reduction in the proportion of the amounts paid by customers which constituted participation fees subject to VAT. So it claimed to recover output tax it considered it had wrongly overpaid (VAT Regulations 1995 SI 1995/2518 reg 38). HMRC rejected the claim and in September 2012 the taxpayer’s then adviser confirmed that Buckingham Bingo would not challenge this decision.

In September 2016 the taxpayer’s new adviser wrote to HMRC relying on K E Entertainments (TC5257) as authority for the repayment. HMRC refused to undertake a late statutory review of its earlier decision.

The First-tier Tribunal dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal and the matter progressed to the Upper Tribunal.

The taxpayer said there was no time...