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 the claim had not been made within three...