VAT Assessment: Best Judgment and Record-Keeping Requirements

• The case involved a second-hand car dealer who underreported his takings and was not registered for VAT.
• HMRC issued a “best judgment” VAT assessment for under-declared VAT.
• The dealer argued that the assessment was too high due to several factors.
• The FTT accepted the dealer’s argument that only 5% of his sales involved part-exchange transactions.
• The FTT dismissed the dealer’s other arguments, including the claim that two other people used his account and the argument that he should be able to use the VAT margin scheme.
• The FTT found that HMRC had exercised its best judgment in estimating the VAT liability.
• The case highlights the importance of maintaining accurate sales and VAT records, especially when seeking to use the VAT margin scheme.
• The FTT is reluctant to overturn HMRC “best judgment” assessments without clear and credible evidence.

Source: rpclegal.com

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.

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