Car Dealerships Lose £730k VAT Refund Claim for Sale of Ex-Demonstrator Cars

• Two car dealerships have lost an appeal at the Upper Tribunal over VAT refunds for the sale of ex-demonstrator cars.
• The case involved a margin claim for demonstrator cars totaling £1.4m, settled in 2006 by agreement with HMRC.
• The dealerships, Cambria Automobiles (South East) Ltd and Invicta Motors Ltd, were claiming £315,902.82 and £415,854.39 respectively.
• The original claims dated back from 1976 to 1992, but the dealerships made further claims in 2009, which were rejected by the Upper Tribunal.
• The tribunal ruled that the settlement agreement precluded further claims and that the new claims fell outside statutory time limits.
• The judge dismissed the appeal but left open the possibility for further litigation within a 56-day appeal window.
• HMRC stated that settling appeals by agreement allows for quicker resolution and legal certainty.

Source: accountancydaily.co

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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