Value Added Tax Act 1994 section 76

Assessment of amounts due by way of penalty, interest or surcharge penalty

Section 76 sets out the powers of HMRC to assess and notify amounts due from a person by way of penalty, interest or surcharge, and explains how those assessments relate to specific VAT accounting periods.

• HMRC may assess amounts due for surcharges, penalties (including for VAT evasion, misdeclaration, and failure to file electronically), and notify the person liable — even if the conduct giving rise to the penalty has already ceased
• Each type of penalty, interest or surcharge is linked to a specific "relevant period" — the prescribed accounting period to which the liability relates, such as the period in which VAT was evaded, understated, or a VAT credit was wrongly obtained
• Where a person is assessed for both VAT and a related penalty, interest or surcharge for the same accounting period, HMRC may combine the assessments into a single notice, but the penalty, interest or surcharge element must be separately identified
• Once assessed and notified, the amount due is recoverable as if it were VAT itself, and notification to a representative such as a trustee in bankruptcy, liquidator or personal representative counts as notification to the person they represent