Input tax and purchase invoice requirements

VAT tribunal cases on a particular subject can be like the number 37 bus in Manchester: you get none for a long time and then three suddenly arrive together. That has happened recently with First-tier Tribunal (FTT) cases about input tax and one of them – lost by HMRC – continues to cause me more confusion than a difficult sudoku puzzle after two glasses of wine.

As I sit in a darkened room – trying to fathom out why HMRC took Fount Construction Ltd (TC9144) to a tribunal when the taxpayer seemed to have a clear winning argument – my only conclusion is that more of HMRC’s compliance work in recent years has been focused on checking repayment returns and repayment returns are driven by input tax claims. More input tax checks equal more input tax assessments so to speak. Is HMRC being too fussy?

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