MVL Delays - Over a year - Liquidator asking for more fees

[Anagram]

Hi All,

I filed for MVL in Mar-21 and it has still not been cleared. I followed up every 6 months and liquidator claimed HMRC delays.
I picked a package for full closure with no come back and paid to £2500.
Now liquidator has come back saying saying they have to file statutory reports at 12 month anniversary and I have to pay for it.
They say this is HMRC delay and have only billed me £180 fees as this was not anticipated. They have also warned me that HMRC is still on July-20 cases so more delays can be expected. I have S455 reclaim as part of MVL.
I am wondering if all this is happening to others as well and if fees are justified?

[WTFH]

Who is the liquidator?

[northernladuk]

You absolutely sure you wanted to MVL? You have no intention to go contracting again for 2 years (well outside anyway)?

[Maslins]

I filed for MVL in Mar-21 and it has still not been cleared. I followed up every 6 months and liquidator claimed HMRC delays.
I picked a package for full closure with no come back and paid to £2500.
Now liquidator has come back saying saying they have to file statutory reports at 12 month anniversary and I have to pay for it.
They say this is HMRC delay and have only billed me £180 fees as this was not anticipated. They have also warned me that HMRC is still on July-20 cases so more delays can be expected. I have S455 reclaim as part of MVL.
I am wondering if all this is happening to others as well and if fees are justified?

I certainly don't think your liquidator is lying to you. The HMRC clearance teams largely fell apart when Covid first hit. Staff were reassigned to deal with other things deemed more urgent in the circumstances, like furlough claims. Most would agree this seems reasonable. It's less reasonable that >2 years on they've still not even come close to getting back on top of things. IR35 changes lead to many closures, hence a big spike in MVL clearance requests, but still...

Each liquidator is dealing with the lack of clearance differently. Seems yours is taking the view they simply can't finalise without it, hence need to keep the liquidation open indefinitely. This does indeed mean additional annual submissions to Cos Hse. Other liquidators are finalising cases without HMRC clearance.

You mention S.455 reclaim. That would typically add a hefty delay to a liquidation irrespective of clearance delays. You're generally looking at a minimum of 9 months post appointment before the liquidator can even attempt to ask for it back. Then HMRC will inevitably drag their heels. Ie so I'd expect a case exceeding a year to be common for S.455 reclaim cases anyway (one of the reasons why MVL Online won't take them).

In short though, MVL clearance delays are happening to other MVL providers. They're all dealing with it differently. £180 doesn't seem an extortionate additional fee, as this isn't really the liquidator's fault...but we appreciatea it's not yours either. Sucky situation.

[Anagram]

Thanks for your reply. Makes sense. I wasn't implying the liquidator is lying but just wanted to check if its due to their specific approach of liquidator or due to some delays from their side.
Also if the blame is entirely on HMRC, shouldn't they be footing the bill. Its a discussion for another time though.
Appreciate you insights on the matter.

I certainly don't think your liquidator is lying to you. The HMRC clearance teams largely fell apart when Covid first hit. Staff were reassigned to deal with other things deemed more urgent in the circumstances, like furlough claims. Most would agree this seems reasonable. It's less reasonable that >2 years on they've still not even come close to getting back on top of things. IR35 changes lead to many closures, hence a big spike in MVL clearance requests, but still...

Each liquidator is dealing with the lack of clearance differently. Seems yours is taking the view they simply can't finalise without it, hence need to keep the liquidation open indefinitely. This does indeed mean additional annual submissions to Cos Hse. Other liquidators are finalising cases without HMRC clearance.

You mention S.455 reclaim. That would typically add a hefty delay to a liquidation irrespective of clearance delays. You're generally looking at a minimum of 9 months post appointment before the liquidator can even attempt to ask for it back. Then HMRC will inevitably drag their heels. Ie so I'd expect a case exceeding a year to be common for S.455 reclaim cases anyway (one of the reasons why MVL Online won't take them).

In short though, MVL clearance delays are happening to other MVL providers. They're all dealing with it differently. £180 doesn't seem an extortionate additional fee, as this isn't really the liquidator's fault...but we appreciatea it's not yours either. Sucky situation.