VAT registration after deregistration

[jooles]

I own a busy beauty salon which was deregistered last August in good faith due to falling sales. A competitor closed down in Jan 08 and now my sales are approaching the current limit and I am worried that my reregistration in under 1 year may make me liable for VAT in the past 9 months.
Any advice would be welcome
Many Thanks
Jooles

[taxattack]

Jooles
Shouldn't be a problem assuming, as you say, the deregistration was based on reasonable assumptions, and you can demonstrate an uplift in turnover which coincides with the closure of the competitor.
Make sure you keep any evidence of the closure to support your case if necessary.
Regards
chris@ taxattack.co.uk

[spidersong]

I'll just add my voice to that of Chris.

I've managed HMRC Registration/Deregistration teams, and if they dereg'd you on reduced turnover grounds it was because they had sufficient information to demonstrate that your turnover would continue below the limit. As long as the info you gave at the point of dereg was accurate then there's no need to worry about them either cancelling the deregistration or insisting on registration from the point of dereg.

Hope this helps.