Insufficient Evidence for Zero-Rated Exports: The H Ripley Case and Court Ruling

H Ripley & Co Limited case involved zero rating of export of scrap metal
HMRC denied zero rating due to lack of evidence of goods being removed from the UK
Acceptable evidence includes customer order, sales invoice, transport documents, bank statements, etc.
HMRC requested information from Belgian tax authorities, found evidence insufficient
Burden of proof on appellant to show goods were removed from the UK
Court ruled that evidence of removal must be obtained within three months
Failure to provide sufficient evidence within three months means supplies cannot be zero-rated
Sales invoices and bank statements did not provide clear evidence of goods being removed from the UK

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.