Finance (No. 2) Act 1992

67 After paragraph 4 of that Schedule there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“Assessment of tax on acquisitions of certain goods by non-taxable persons

4A (1) Where a person who has, at a time when he was not a taxable person, acquired in the United Kingdom from another member State any goods subject to a duty of excise or consisting in a new means of transport and—

(a) no notification of that acquisition has been given to the Commissioners by the person who is required to give one by regulations under paragraph 2(2B) above;

(b) the Commissioners are not satisfied that the particulars relating to the acquisition in any notification given to them are accurate and complete; or

(c) there has been a failure to supply the Commissioners with the information necessary to verify the particulars contained in any such notification,

they may assess the amount of tax due on the acquisition to the best of their judgment and notify their assessment to that person.

(2) An assessment under this paragraph must be made within the time limits provided for in section 22 of the [1985 c. 54.] Finance Act 1985 (ultimate time limits on assessments) and shall not be made after whichever is the later of the following—

(a) two years after the time when a notification of the acquisition of the goods in question is given to the Commissioners by the person who is required to give one by regulations under paragraph 2(2B) above;

(b) one year after evidence of the facts, sufficient in the opinion of the Commissioners to justify the making of the assessment, comes to their knowledge,

but (subject to that section) where further such evidence comes to the Commissioners' knowledge after the making of an assessment under this paragraph, another assessment may be made under this paragraph, in addition to any earlier assessment.

(3) Where an amount has been assessed and notified to any person under this paragraph, it shall, subject to the provisions of this Act as to appeals, be deemed to be an amount of tax due from him and may be recovered accordingly, unless, or except to the extent that, the assessment has subsequently been withdrawn or reduced.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph notification to a personal representative, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, liquidator or person otherwise acting in a representative capacity in relation to the person who made the acquisition in question shall be treated as notification to the person in relation to whom he so acts.”