15 December 2011
Revenue and Customs Commissioners v Harris [2011] EWHC 3094 (Ch), [2011] All ER (D) 52 (Dec)
It was settled law that the bankruptcy court would not go behind a tax assessment for the purposes of determining the existence or amount of a proof of debt. The assessment gave rise to a statutory debt and any challenge was to be made through the machinery laid down in the taxes legislation. That principle was applicable, inter alia, on the hearing of a bankruptcy petition where the debtor sought to challenge a petition debt derived from an assessment which had not been successfully appealed. Although most of the cases in the area dealt with income tax assessments, the same principles applied in relation to VAT assessments.
