Copthorn Holdings wins appeal over 'cynical' HMRC VAT guidance

Property company Copthorn Holdings has won a reprise at the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) over a dispute with HMRC over VAT administration issues which led to a loss of the right to a £2m input tax deduction relating to complex land purchase transfers and a dispute over change of interpretation of the rules by HMRC, described by the Judge as 'a somewhat cynical endeavour', reports Sara White

This case, Copthorn Holdings Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2015] TC 04582 UKFTT 0405 (TC), centred around an appeal in which the Copthorn group challenged, for the second time in relation to the same circumstances, the refusal by HMRC to exercise their discretion under Value Added Tax 1994 (VATA 1994), s43B(4), to allow two group companies to join the Copthorn VAT group on a retrospective basis.

The argument by Copthorn Holdings Ltd, a holding company for north of England house-building group, was that HMRC had modified its policy on backdating applications within advisory groups, causing undue confusion on compliance issues.

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