Unexpected APN Puts Psychic’s Business into Liquidation

A company offering psychic services has been entered into voluntary liquidation after receiving an unexpected Advanced Payment Notice (APN) from HMRC.

Sally Morgan Enterprises, which is led by a well-known clairvoyant who gives her name to the business, recently found itself in receipt of a tax demand from the Revenue worth in excess of £2.9 million.

The fact that the demand came in the form of an APN meant the company was given only 90 days to produce the amounts owed and no scope to postpone the relevant payments.

Liquidators appointed to oversee the company’s financial affairs have said that the situation for the business is far from healthy.

“Based on the information available to date and the assumptions made, it is currently uncertain as to the level of monies available to distribute to unsecured creditors,” a statement from the liquidators explained.

The precise figure believed to be owed to HMRC by Sally Morgan Enterprises is £2,919, 354, or almost £3 million.

APNs are a somewhat controversial mechanism via which HMRC attempts to bring in monies it is believed to be owed without delays or postponements.

However, there is no right of appeal for APN recipients and convincing HMRC that errors have been made or amounts have been mistakenly demanded can be very difficult indeed for individuals or for businesses.

As of April of this year, a total of around 80,000 APNs were estimated to have been sent out by HMRC since they were first introduced by the government in August 2014.

But it was officially revealed recently that as many as 6,000 of those notices were withdrawn after having been mistakenly issued.

Commenting when these numbers were first released, Adam Craggs from the law firm PRC said: “APNs have always been controversial and these figures are going to do little to silence their critics or reassure taxpayers that HMRC is exercising its powers in a proportionate and lawful manner.

“Clearly, HMRC doesn’t always get it right so businesses and individuals who feel they’ve been issued with an APN in error should not simply feel they have to accept it and pay up.”