Had a transfer of a going concern taken place?

The company traded as a men’s outfitters under the name of Benny Hamish and submitted its first VAT return after incorporation for the period ending 31 January 2016. The return was for a large repayment due mainly to input tax claimed on stock allegedly purchased from a separate business called Snow that had ceased to trade supposedly owned by a Mr Singh.

HMRC said there were inaccuracies in the return and adjusted it to reduce input tax by £98 418 and increase output tax by £4 772. The officer also issued a personal liability notice against the sole director Mr Hashmi because there was a risk of the company becoming insolvent and the errors on the return were deemed by HMRC to have been deliberate.

HMRC concluded that there had been a transfer of a going concern from Snow to Apollinaire Ltd because:

• the same...