Market leading insight for tax experts
View online issue

Royal Borough of Kesington & Chelsea v HMRC

Burden of proof in a refund claim

In Royal Borough of Kesington & Chelsea v HMRC (TC03850 – 30 July 2014) the FTT found that HMRC had not discharged its burden of proof as a result of the destruction of old records.

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) had overpaid VAT by over £550 000 (covering the period from 6 April 1986 to 31 March 1997) and the issue was whether it was entitled to a repayment of that amount (under VATA 1994 s 80). The claim resulted from a change of practice of HMRC to the effect that no VAT should have been charged on building control fees.

Under a ‘Method 2 agreement’ – as set out in HMRC guidance – local authorities could authorise HMRC to make payments directly to claimants. RBKC had duly entered into such an agreement with HMRC and the question was...

If you or your firm subscribes to Taxjournal.com, please click the login box below:

If you do not subscribe but are a registered user, please enter your details in the following boxes:

Alternatively, you can register free of charge to read a limited amount of subscriber content per month.
Once you have registered, you will receive an email directing you back to read this article in full.
Please reach out to customer services at +44 (0) 330 161 1234 or 'customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk' for further assistance.
EDITOR'S PICKstar
Top