ARTICLE · 09 FEBRUARY 2009

VAT Focus - A Round-Up Of Recent VAT-Related Developments

Smith & Williamson

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Following the cases of "Fleming" and "Condé Nast", businesses have the opportunity to reclaim overpaid or under-claimed VAT from the period 1973 to 1997 (previously blocked by the three-year cap).

United KingdomTax

Time Is Running Out To Reclaim VAT

Following the cases of Fleming and Condé Nast, businesses have the opportunity to reclaim overpaid or under-claimed VAT from the period 1973 to 1997 (previously blocked by the three-year cap). However, the 31 March 2009 deadline for making claims to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is fast approaching, so this should be reviewed urgently.

There are many areas where claims can be made, including staff entertainment costs (which were not allowed prior to 1997), business gifts, staff expenses, car parking and foreign exchange trading for banks.

A lack of accurate and complete records, especially for the earlier years, was considered an obstacle to making claims. However, HMRC appears to be accepting extrapolation and sampling methods to estimate reasonable claims for earlier years where complete records are not available.

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