Regulation 13 determination and best judgment

The taxpayer had been in the construction business since October 2013 but did not register for the construction industry scheme until November 2016.

In October 2017 HMRC issued a regulation 13 determination letter for the period October 2013 to October 2016. The taxpayer disputed the figure for 2015-16. It provided an invoice dated 10 December 2015 for payments relating to materials and labour it had made to AKY saying the sum for materials should not be included in the determination. HMRC refused to accept the invoice because it was dated nine months after AKY had gone into liquidation.

The taxpayer appealed on the ground the determination had not been made to the best of HMRC’s judgment (reg 13(2)).

The First-tier Tribunal said the bar had been set high before a tribunal could disturb the decision of and HMRC officer. Referring to Van Boeckel v CCE [1981] STC 290 the judge...