Our VAT assessment review service will streamline decision-making about your company’s response to protect your business from an incorrect assessment that results in excessive tax, interest and penalty liabilities.

An Independent Expert Opinion

We offer an independent review of your assessment and can tell you whether it is fair and reasonable to accept it. If it is not, we can tell you what adjustments you can pursue and the potential financial benefit of pursuing a challenge to HMRC.

We work on a contingency basis, which means we will only charge you if your challenge is successful.

Common Reasons for a VAT Assessment

HMRC may raise a VAT assessment where questions arise concerning:

  • input tax recovery
  • partial exemption
  • international supplies
  • retail transaction
  • import/export
  • transactions involving land and property
  • VAT grouping arrangements
  • supply chain structures

Businesses that are restructuring may also draw the attention of HMRC. And if your organisation has made VAT errors in the past, or had compliance issues, that might also increase the risk of HMRC scrutinising your VAT affairs.

Included in Our VAT Assessment Review Service

Our VAT assessment review service includes:

  • independent review of HMRC’s conclusions
  • calculating exposure and risk
  • identifying technical weaknesses and strengths in HMRC’s position
  • interfacing with HMRC
  • support with developing a dispute strategy.

Benefits of Engaging a VAT Consultant to Support an HMRC Assessment

There are several advantages and benefits to engaging The Proactive Consultancy Group’s VAT advisers:

  • an expert assessment review ensures an accurate picture of liabilities
  • extra expert resource takes the pressure off internal teams
  • an independent external view on risk and opportunity
  • negotiate from a strong position with a well-supported technical response

About Our VAT Assessment Service

The Proactive Consultancy Group can assess HMRC’s position and give an independent view of your position, including the strength of your case, the risks and your options.

We will quantify financial exposure. This risk information will inform your finance leaders so that they can make good decisions from the start. It might include:

VAT under dispute
Potential interest exposure
Potential penalties
Accounting implications
Financial statement considerations

Finding the Evidence

We can also identify technical weaknesses in HMRC’s position and use them to make a robust challenge that is based on evidence. With our extensive knowledge of relevant tribunal decisions, legislation, HMRC’s own guidance and alternative technical arguments, we can quickly and efficiently find evidence to support your challenge.

Talking to HMRC

We can act as a single point of contact between your business and HMRC by managing correspondence and enquiries. This reduces the burden on your finance and tax team, and ensures that HMRC gets the information it asks for in accordance with any deadlines.

Developing a VAT Dispute Strategy

Should you need to challenge HMRC’s assessment, we can guide you in developing a dispute strategy. Our experienced advisers can help with informal negotiations, technical representation, requests for reconsideration, statutory reviews and formal appeals.

Request a review

Our advice: Do not accept an HMRC VAT assessment without a specialist review.

Book a call

Our VAT Assessment Process

 Reviewing HMRC’s Assessment

We analyse HMRC's findings, calculations and technical arguments.

 Evaluate the Organisational Risks

We identify strengths, weaknesses and potential financial exposure.

 Develop a Strategy

We recommend a strategy to manage HMRC's assessment, providing an effective route to resolution.

 Engage with HMRC

We represent your interests throughout negotiations and dispute discussions with HMRC.

 Support Appeals Where Required

We continue supporting you through reviews and formal challenges where necessary and appropriate.

Who Is Our VAT Assessment and Challenge Service For?

When significant tax is at stake, call on The Proactive Consultancy Group. Our independent VAT advice makes an enormous difference to the outcome of your HMRC assessment.

Support at Any Stage

Whether you are still considering your options, or you know you are ready to challenge HMRC, our VAT specialists can help you protect your position to ensure an effective resolution.

An Independent Second Opinion

Clients often require this service because they want a second opinion when HMRC has reported that they need to pay substantial additional VAT. We hear from clients who have potential liability that is significant enough to need board-level oversight. Clients may tell us that the amount they have been assessed for appears excessive.

Support With Deciding Whether to Appeal

We can also step in if you are of the opinion that HMRC has misunderstood your commercial arrangements. Our VAT assessment and challenge service is ideal if you need specialist support deciding whether to appeal an HMRC VAT assessment.

Sectors We Can Help with VAT Assessments

The Proactive Consultancy Group provides a VAT assessment and challenge service to these sectors:

We work with high-value businesses and organisations operating in sectors where partial exemption issues commonly arise, including:

Case Studies