Value Added Tax Act 1994 Schedule 13 para 20

Assessments

Paragraph 20 of Schedule 13 deals with how HMRC's power to make assessments under section 73 applies to amounts paid or credited before the Value Added Tax Act 1994 came into force, with modifications depending on how far back the amounts date.

• HMRC may use section 73 to assess amounts paid or credited before the 1994 Act commenced, but with time-limited modifications.
• For amounts paid or credited before 30th July 1990, section 73(2) applies in a reduced form, removing the wording that extends the assessment power to amounts that turned out to have been overpaid.
• For amounts repaid or paid to any person before the Finance Act 1982 was passed, section 73(2) is disapplied entirely, meaning the broader assessment power introduced by that subsection does not apply to those earlier payments.
• The effect is a graduated transitional regime: the further back the payment dates, the more limited HMRC's assessment powers become.