THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR POLICING AND CRIME v Revenue & Customs (VAT - claim for repayment of VAT wrongly paid)

VAT - claim for repayment of VAT wrongly paid - whether HMRC can rely upon s80(3) VATA defence against a public body - yes - whether Appellant would be �unjustly enriched� - yes - appeal dismissed

The Tribunal determined the appeal on 9 March 2022 without a hearing under the provisions of Rule 29 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Tax Chamber) Rules 2009. Both parties consented to the appeal being determined in this way and the Tribunal considered that it was in the interests of justice to do so.

The Tribunal decided the appeal having first read the Notice of Appeal dated 14 May 2018 (with enclosures), HMRC's Amended Statement of Case dated 25 July 2019 (original dated 21 June 2019), witness statement of Mr Ian Percival dated 6 December 2019 (with exhibits), two �submissions on behalf of the Appellant, the first, undated but served on 2 July 2020 and, the second, dated 23 July 2020, the submissions on behalf of the Respondents dated 16 July 2020, together with the other documents contained in an e-bundle and referred to in the main body of this Decision.

Mr Peter Mantle, counsel, instructed by the General Counsel and Solicitor to HM Revenue and Customs for the Respondents.

             This appeal concerns whether the Respondents (�HMRC�) can rely on the unjust enrichment defence in s 80(3) Value Added Tax Act 1994 (�VATA�) in relation to a claim (an overpayment of VAT) by the Appellant, The Mayor�s Office for Policing and Crime (�MOPAC�). MOPAC, a public body, contends that it would not be enriched because any amount repaid would remain for the benefit of the public.