HMRA4040 – Refusal/cancellation: What are the grounds for refusing or cancelling discretionary approvals?

Grounds for refusal/cancellation of Distiller, WOWGR and REDS applications include:

• the legal entity applying, or its key employees, have been involved in significant revenue non-compliance or fraud in any of the Revenue and Customs’ regimes;
• applicant provides false information with the clear intention to deceive;
• applicant has unspent convictions;
• there is a proven link between key personnel/directors and other known non-compliant or fraudulent businesses;
• the proposed business is not commercially viable or has significant credibility issues;
• the trader cannot demonstrate a genuine business need to justify the registration/licence;
• outstanding departmental debts and no efforts have been made to pay the debt;
• REDS (not agents) unable to obtain duty deferment; and

Further grounds for cancellation of the approval include:

• key personnel replaced by persons with a proven history of revenue fraud or non compliance;
• failure to notify any material change in the business e.g. change of principal place of business; operating unapproved premises to store suspension goods;
• a registered owner no longer holds or intends to hold goods in any warehouse;
• a registered owner has sold goods in warehouse without informing the warehousekeeper or checking the purchaser is WOWGR registered;
• a REDS trader has de-registered for VAT; and
• no longer trading (e.g. in liquidation).

(This list is not exhaustive)