Jon O’Brien, operations director for PMPA, confirmed it would now likely follow AMPD, Freehold and the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers (RAMP) and become registered. But he refused to be drawn on whether the alliance would have to make back payments.
He said: “That’s between us and the VAT man, but we don’t have any worries about this. We are well funded and have good capital. It is business as usual and this won’t affect our members.”
But John Rice, managing director of the RAMP, speculated possible back payments could be an issue. “We have paid VAT from day one and will have paid around £300,000 by the end of our third year of trading. PMPA has never paid VAT and has been trading for six years, so I would estimate the figure could be in the region of £500,000.”
Eddie Smith, operations director for AMPD, added: “As a new alliance, we had the opportunity to ensure we fully investigated all possible scenarios, including VAT. We’ve been making reserves since we approached the inspectorate and while disappointed with the decision, we’re pleased the matter is concluded.”
Paul Brett, director of Freehold, confirmed it was also in the process of becoming registered. “We want to demonstrate we are a professional organisation with professional people and would rather toe the line than worry about a bill.”
