VAT Disallowance Appeal: High Street Jewellers’ Connection to Fraudulent VAT Evasion – Appeal Dismissed

• Appeal against HMRC’s denial of input tax of £310,184 by Micro
• HMRC’s grounds for denial were that the purchases were connected to fraudulent VAT evasion
• Micro did not pay suppliers until paid by customers, made no meaningful checks on counterparties
• Tribunal had electronic hearing bundle of 2,415 pages including witness statements
• Oral evidence heard from Micro’s director, Mr. Ram
• Micro wished to cross examine certain HMRC officers but did not do so during the hearing
• Appeal dismissed as there was no reasonable explanation for the transactions other than connection to fraudulent VAT evasion.

Source: bailii.org

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.