Finance Act 1944

12 Power to except a person from registration where tax on his purchases would be not less than tax on his sales.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of section twenty-three of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1940 (which requires the registration of wholesale merchants and manufacturers whose businesses include the selling of chargeable goods), if the Commissioners are satisfied in the case of any such merchant or manufacturer, on a comparative estimate of—

(a) the amount of the tax which, apart from any exercise of the power conferred on the Commissioners by this section, will become chargeable by virtue of purchases from him as being a person required to be registered, and of appropriations and applications such as are mentioned in section twenty-five, of that Act made by him as being a person so required, and

(b) the amount of the tax which, if he is not registered, will become chargeable by reason of the fact that the provisions of the enactments relating to the tax as to purchases by, sales to and importations for, a registered person as stock for his business or as materials will not in that event apply to him,

that the latter amount will on the average be not less than the former, they may, if he is not already registered, refrain from registering him so long as they are so satisfied, or, if he is already registered, cancel his registration and thereafter refrain from registering him so long as they are so satisfied.

(2) As respects any period during which the Commissioners refrain under this section from registering a person who would otherwise be required by the said subsection (1) to be registered, he shall be treated for the purposes of the enactments relating to the tax, other than the provisions of subsection (2) of the said section twenty-three, as being a person not required by the said subsection (1) to be registered.

(3) The provisions of subsection (8) of the said section twenty-three as to service by the Commissioners of notice of their intention to cancel a registration shall have effect, as respects a cancellation under this section, only where such a cancellation is effected without the assent of the registered person.