Company Officers jointly and severally liable for VAT Penalty

The decision in a recent tax tribunal case reminds us that directors and other company officers may be personally liable for VAT penalties of their company. The recent case involved a penalty for late registration for VAT where the threshold had been exceeded.

HMRC have the power to impose such a penalty on an individual where:-

• There is a penalty payable by the company for a deliberate failure and

• The individual on whom HMRC seek to impose liability is an “officer” of the company and

• The deliberate failure is attributable to that officer

Photo by Ritchie Valens on Unsplash