Failure to notify liability to register

During an interview with HMRC the taxpayer said he took out a lease from Urban Off Sales Ltd for two off-licences Shandwick and Castlemilk. Neither was registered for VAT but HMRC concluded Shandwick should have been. It issued a ‘best judgment’ assessment against the taxpayer to cover the period he should have been VAT-registered with a penalty for failing to register on time. 

HMRC treated the taxpayer’s late registration as ‘deliberate’ because he had been VAT registered in the past when he ran an off-licence elsewhere so knew about the relevant thresholds. The VAT registration was ‘prompted’ because it resulted from an HMRC visit to the relevant premises.

The taxpayer appealed saying he was employed by Urban Off Sales Ltd as a manager to run the shops. 

The First-tier Tribunal said it was accepted that Shandwick should have been registered for VAT. On the taxpayer’s assertion in his...