In our last article, which can be found here, we reported on the government’s intention to give HMRC priority in the recovery of certain debts (including VAT, PAYE, Employee NICs, and Construction Industry Scheme deductions ) in insolvency proceedings.
It was expected that these measures would be announced in the Finance Bill 2020 and come into force for insolvencies commencing after April 2020. However, the first budget of the Boris Johnson Government delivered today by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed that the commencement of these measures, including the partial return of the Crown preference, will be delayed until 1 December 2020.
The budget also confirmed the extension of these provisions to Northern Ireland, otherwise, the proposals remain unchanged.
The 2020 budget can be found here.
Tim Carter