Should VAT Surcharge be further appealed to First Tier Tribunal

Should VAT Surcharge be further appealed to...

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My client had requested twice for payment plan on payment of VAT.  They were accepted but the second one still ended up with VAT surcharge.  In the last VAT quarter ended 30 November, before the due date of 7th January, my client requested a payment plan again.  It was rejected outright.  My client called again after 10 minutes and spoke to a different VAT Officer and requested a payment plan for 4 weekly payments.  This time the Officer said she would refer the case to the Local VAT Office for a decision.  A day before the due date, as there was no response, my client called again and been told that if the case had been referred to the Local VAT Office, they would write to my client for a decision.  A few weeks later, a Surcharge Notice of 15% on the VAT due.  My client immediately called VAT Debt Management and this time the call was somehow answered by the Local VAT Office.  The Officer said they had not received any referral, and as the Surcharge Notice had already been issued, my client should appeal in writing with all the facts.  Needless to say that the appeal was rejected based on (a) there was no "no time to pay agreement have been set up by the due date", and (b) time to pay arrangements are not a right and are a temporary, normally one off, solution.......They are not intended to be a way of regularly paying VAT returns by monthly instalments.  My client has 30 days to lodge an appeal to First-tier Tribunal.

The facts are, (a) a VAT Officer failed to refer the case to the Local VAT Office, therefore conveniently without no time to pay agreement; and (b) my client asked for weekly and not monthly payments and it was only for 4 weeks.  We don't know what would be the outcome if the case were referred but if they say the answer would still have been NO then it would not be impartial as this is the centre of the complaint.

Guidance notes from Tribunal state that they would only hear cases on the point of law.  They cannot change law and would not hear cases of an administration issue.  The way I see it, the point of law is that there is no no time to pay agreement set up before the due date, and failure to refer the case would be a complaint of an administration issue.  I would be grateful if someone can share their opinion as whether it is worth filing an appeal to the Trinbunal.

Many thanks

Eddie

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chips_at_mattersey
By Les Howard
07th Mar 2012 17:40

Tribunal Appeal

On the facts there is certainly merit in taking the matter further.

You have a choice to apply for the case to be heard on papers only, which avoids the higher costs of having a Hearing. Alternatively, you can have an actual Hearing.

You will need to provide a clear record of what happened and when, so the Tribunal knows the full facts.

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