VCP10421 - Belated Notification Penalty: Considerations prior to issuing a penalty assessment: Legal considerations

Belated Notification Penalty has been replaced by the Failure to Notify penalty introduced by Schedule 41 of the Finance Act 2008. The Failure to Notify penalty applies to obligations to notify HMRC of a liability to be registered for VAT on or after 01/04/2010. The Belated Notification Penalty under Section 67 VATA 1994 continues to apply to obligations to notify a liability to be registered for VAT before 01/04/2010.

Please see the Compliance Handbook CH70000 for more details about the new failure to notify penalty.

A person is not liable to a penalty for failure to notify under Section 67 if by reason of that failure they are

• Convicted of an offence whether under VAT Act 1994

  Or otherwise
   

• Assessed for a civil evasion penalty under S60 VAT Act 1994

A belated notification penalty should not be raised at the same time as a civil evasion penalty or when criminal proceedings are taken against the trader for conduct that involves belated notification

Only one penalty can be raised for the same conduct. However a belated notification penalty can be withdrawn and replaced by a civil evasion penalty or a criminal penalty

You should check VISION to ensure an investigation is not being conducted before making a belated notification penalty assessment