Another Deloitte three year cap claim succeeds in Tribunal
Bristol Street Group has enjoyed a resounding victory before the Tribunal in relation to its claim for repayment of overpaid VAT on demonstrator vehicles. The taxpayer, advised by Deloitte, won on almost every point, with the most significant outcome being the Tribunal's analysis of the correct test for allowing such a claim. Business Briefs 22/02 and 27/02 required the taxpayer to show that it would have made a claim and the chairman concluded that Bristol Street would have done so. However, the Tribunal was "unable to find in the European jurisprudence any proper basis for saying that "would have" is the proper test" and indicated that the correct formulation was whether the taxpayer could have made a claim.
ECJ decides that innocent parties to carousel frauds can reclaim VAT
Some businesses may be in line for VAT refunds following the ECJ’s decision that businesses that "had no knowledge and no means of knowledge" of a fraud in the supply chain were entitled to recover the VAT that they paid. The joined cases of Bond House, Fulcrum Electronics and Optigen were about VAT recovery claims in relation to transactions where a VAT fraud by another entity in the supply chain left HMRC out of pocket. The use by the Court of the words "no means of knowledge" leaves open the possibility that HMRC might still be able to refuse VAT refunds where taxpayers were or should have been alerted to the possibility of a fraud, perhaps due to the unusual nature of a transaction.
Telecoms businesses – M-Commerce
Some of our clients have received letters from HMRC indicating that they may be having second thoughts about the correct VAT treatment of M-commerce - the process of paying for (and sometimes receiving) services by way of a mobile phone account. It appears that in some circumstances, HMRC may be altering their traditional view of the supply chain in situations where the underlying services are supplied by a third party and this is disclosed to the ultimate customer.
Importers and Exporters
The Deloitte Customs Group roadshows explaining how businesses should prepare for important changes affecting companies involved in importing and exporting will be taking place at the following locations on the dates shown:-
- Leeds – 1st February
- Birmingham – 6th February
- London – 13th February
- Cardiff – 7th March
- Edinburgh – 14th March
- Belfast – 16th March
- Manchester – 2nd February
- Bristol – 7th February
- Reading – 14th February
- Glasgow – 14th March
- Aberdeen – 15th March
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.