B Bowley v HMRC

In B Bowley v HMRC [2015] UKFTT 683 (22 December 2015) the FTT found that a builder was entitled to a refund under the DIY Housebuilders scheme (VATA 1994 s 35) even though part of the project had been completed some 20 years before the application for refund.

The original planning permission had described the development as: ‘Erection of a building and garage. Construction of a new vehicular and pedestrian access and driveway.’ Planning permission for a garage block greenhouse garden shed pergola and swimming pool had subsequently been applied for and granted. A certificate of completion had been issued in 1994; however Mr Bowley had only applied for a refund under the DIY scheme in February 2014 as the garage block had only been completed then. HMRC had denied the refund on the ground that...