In Cambrian Hydro Power Ltd v HMRC (TC02423 – 20 December) a company (C) had applied in November 2011 to be registered from 1 January 2012. In February 2012 it applied for its registration to be backdated to April 2009 so that it could reclaim input tax incurred in 2009 and 2010. HMRC rejected the claim and C appealed. The First-tier Tribunal directed that ‘the matter be referred back to HMRC for a reconsideration of the decision to refuse (C’s) backdated registration to 1 April 2009 and to substitute a new decision’. Sir Stephen Oliver observed that HMRC’s VAT Manual V1-28 para 8.8 stated that ‘in limited circumstances we may permit a retrospective change to the effective date of registration if there has been a...
