No success

Three recent cases concerned businesses in the construction industry.

In Beard and A Longworth & Sons HMRC cancelled the employers’ gross payment status because they had failed the compliance test under FA 2004 Sch 11 para 4.

Mr Beard had accumulated substantial debts over some years and made late payments of tax in 2007.

The next year his business made a loss. He claimed relief in respect of that loss for the year ended 31 March 2008 and applied to have it carried back to the previous year. This resulted in a tax repayment.

However HMRC subsequently cancelled the appellant’s construction industry scheme gross payment status because of the late tax payments.

The First-tier Tribunal decided that the appellant had no reasonable excuse for the late paid tax. The possible loss claim could not provide this neither...