The Most Important VAT Cases: And Why You Need to Know Them

Part 1 – Input tax

1. Input tax and legal fees

2. Input tax and buying a new car

3. Input tax and “business purpose”

4. Input tax: who is receiving a supply of goods or services?

5. Input tax on goods given away without charge

Part 2 – Output tax

1. Mixed supplies

2. Three party transactions

3. VAT exemption for private tuition

4. Online sales: agent v principal

5. Bad debt or credit note?

Part 3 – HMRC powers

1. Business splitting

2. Output tax due on sales suppressed by pub

3. “Best judgement” assessment - was it flawed?

4. Assessment time limits

5. Power to backdate registration date

Part 4 – VAT registration

1. Intending trader status and VAT registration

2. Was backdating of VAT registration date possible?

3. Late VAT registration and reasonable excuse

4. Deregistration and output tax on assets

5. Pre-registration input tax claim

Part 5 – International VAT issues

1. Management services to overseas company: Were they business supplies?

2. Export evidence for zero-rating

3. International services and dating agency: what is consultancy?

4. Reverse charge: were builder services bought from a UK or overseas supplier?

Part 6 – Land and property

1. Did salon rent out rooms or provide facilities to tenants?

2. Was a new epilepsy centre used for a relevant charitable purpose?

3. Did converting two flats into a house qualify for 5% VAT on building work?

4. Option to tax election procedural issues

Part 7 – Errors and penalties

1. Deliberate error: excluding property sale from VAT return

2. Was penalty rate of 204% for careless errors reasonable?

3. Was £217,000 default surcharge reasonable for paying VAT five days late?

Part 8 – Partial exemption

1. Partial exemption and attribution of input tax

2. Was expenditure on animals linked to taxable sales?

3. Was a partial exemption special method fair and reasonable?

Part 9 – Business or non-business

1. Was there a business?

2. Was a new bridge linked to any business supplies made by the cathedral?

3. Was there a business activity taking place?

Part 10 – Flat rate scheme

1. What was the correct flat rate scheme percentage?

2. Staying in the flat rate scheme, despite exceeding exit limit