This was an appeal against the refusal by HMRC to repay import VAT, which the appellant had paid in error in relation to an import of goods which they were handling as a freight forwarder. HMRC had repaid them the much smaller amount of Customs Duty, which had been overpaid in relation to the same import, but insisted that the overpaid VAT could only be repaid by being credited as input tax to the importer, not the appellant.
In the Notice of Appeal, the appellant maintained that:
(1) HMRC requested a VAT disclaimer from the appellant and when it was supplied HMRC refused to pay the VAT to them, even though they informed HMRC that it was impossible for that to be done; and
(2) they also made numerous attempts to chase progress of the claim, were told to be patient because of backlogs and were then told the claim was closed.
