In the recent case of Gradon Construction Ltd the validity of invoices was considered and whether input tax could be recovered in respect of them.
HMRC disallowed a claim for input tax on the basis that the supplier had retrospectively deregistered on a date prior to the date shown on the invoices. The Tribunal decided that this was not a reason to disallow the claim. However, it decided that the claim should be disallowed on the grounds that the invoices did not contain a description sufficient to identify the goods or services supplied, nor did they provide the quantity of the goods or the extent of the services as required by legislation. Consequently, the documents did not meet the requirements of a valid tax invoice with the result that the recipient could not recover the amount on the documents which purported to be VAT. HMRC has the discretion to accept alternative evidence in lieu of an invoice, but in this case the Tribunal decided that HMRC acted reasonably in not accepting any other documentation, so the recipient of the supply could not recover the input tax.
This case again highlights the crucial importance of primary documentation when it comes to VAT. A full guide to invoices here
Information on input tax that it is not possible to claim here https://www.marcusward.co/what-vat-cant-you-claim-2/
It is crucial that a business’ invoices meet all the requirements, and that a procedure is in place to check the validity of invoices received in order to determine whether the input tax is claimable, or whether the invoice issuer should be contacted so that a valid tax invoice may be obtained.