Going concern for non-established persons

R&C Brief 11(2016) advises on HMRC’s policy relating to transfer of going concerns (TOGCs) where the buyer of the business is a company or person based outside the UK. The issue arises because non-established persons do not enjoy the VAT registration threshold applicable to established persons, and must register for VAT on the basis of an intention to make taxable supplies of any value within the next 30 days.

The TOGC rules applicable to UK established organisations require the buyer to adopt the last 12 months of taxable turnover of the seller when determining whether they need to register for VAT.