Time deadlines for VAT assessments

HMRC will appoint 5 000 compliance officers in the next few years the aim being to tackle fraud and non-compliance. The training process will be lengthy and the department will grudgingly accept that a high percentage of fully trained officers – perhaps three years down the line – will accept more lucrative positions in the private sector. However an important job of all new officers will be to issue assessments for underpaid tax – ‘bring in the money’ is the message from the powers that be. HMRC wants to significantly reduce the annual VAT gap of £9.5bn.

In some cases assessments will be issued out of time and should be withdrawn because the officer has not understood the deadlines specified in the legislation. I’ll explain these in this article – they are quite complicated – and also highlight some recent tribunal decisions which have helped to...