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To pre-empt and to stand a chance of winning the case, firms need to demonstrate on a case by case basis, exactly what it is they are providing and that the primary purpose of any treatment is medical. This is made more difficult when patient records are private, confidential and data protection has also to be considered.

As always in tax, the burden of proof is on you the appellant

Do you need third party medical corroboration or an expert witness?

Just because ...

Sadly, many aesthetics clinics even when operated entirely by a qualified medial practitioner, may well find that they have been breaching the rules about charging VAT to their clients, either knowingly or not.

It has however been a well-known issue over recent years and this has spread by word of mouth (albeit largely ignored) across this industry. Most practitioners are aware of this hot potato!

So, if you are in the frame for such a Revenue attack what can you do to ...

How would HMRC have selected your case for enquiry?

HMRC screen business accounts when submitted to them and select many on the basis of:-

• Turnover falling just below the VAT threshold of £85,000
• Turnover not matching their VAT returns, if filed
• Nature of the trade, in various specialist projects into whole UK or regional trade sectors – often called ‘campaigns’, such as one into cosmetic practices across the UK.
• Information received from anonymous sources like your competitors, an online or social media presence, articles in ...