- A tribunal found construction firm BSCL did not generally know, and should not have known, that most of its transactions were linked to VAT fraud under the Kittel principle.
- HMRC had assessed BSCL for £624,162 and issued £187,248 in penalties, but these were largely cancelled on appeal.
- The case centered on whether BSCL should have detected fraud among its suppliers, after HMRC sent warning (“veto”) letters about deregistered suppliers.
- The FTT rejected HMRC’s arguments about invoice details and changing bank details, noting BSCL lacked prior VAT fraud experience and had received no specific warning.
- One exception remained, but overall the tribunal mostly sided with BSCL.
Source: accountingweb.co.uk
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.
