When did Customs & Excise begin to acknowledge options to tax?

When did Customs & Excise begin to acknowledge...

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My client is about to enter into a property deal.  The other party say they have opted to tax, and they have exhibited a copy of their notification of the OTT.  It dates from 1996.  Notification became compulsory in 1995, but the other party say that Customs & Excise did not begin to issue acknowledgements of OTTs until later.  I've phoned HMRC and they say acknowledgements began in 1995.  That makes sense, but maybe the guy on the helpline just said that because he couldn't find anything to suggest otherwise. 

When did HMCE acknowledgements begin? 

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By b.clarke
04th Sep 2010 12:22

There must be an acknowledgment

Just because you sent HMRC a notice of opting to tax, that's doesn't mean by itself that the notice will be effective. Generally, an option is not effective unless notified to HMRC within 30 days from the effective date. So did the vendor meet that deadline? Do HMRC agree that there is an option to tax in place?

This is fundamental, and without an acknowledgment from HMRC, you can't be sure. So the other party is clearly wrong.

Also, to be granted an option to tax, you have to meet certain conditions. All in all, it's simple. You're about to spend a lot of money - so make sure the option to tax is in place. Based on the information in your post, I would not do a deal with that vendor, if it was me.

 

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