Update to VAT refunds

Hillier Hopkins LLP

Chartered Accountants & Tax Advisers

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EU VAT Refunds for calendar year 2018 and the first 3 months of 2019

  • Ideally, these should be submitted before 5pm on 29 March 2019. Where the claim is from an EU business, you must allow enough time for the claim to reach HMRC, which could be several days.
  • Claims for this calendar year which miss the 5pm 29 March deadline will need to be submitted using a paper form. There are no plans to digitalise the “13th Directive” claim system in the short term. Further information on how to do this will be available after 30 March in VAT Notice 723A.
  • The deadline for claims on expenses incurred in 2018 will be 30 September 2019.
  • For expenses incurred between 1 January 2019 and 29 March 2019, the deadline will be 30 September 2020.


 
Refunds of VAT on expenses incurred after 29 March 2019

  • The repayment period runs from 1 July to 30 June each year;
  • Deadline is 31 December each year
  • For example, any expense incurred between 30 march 2019 and 30 June 2019 will need to be claimed by 31 December 2019;
  • Claim must be in English using form VAT65A
  • Certificate of status required.

 
Correcting UK MOSS returns

Adjustments of £10,000 or under or 1% of the box 6 figure on the VAT return where the error is to be corrected (up to a maximum of £50,000) may be corrected on the UK VAT return as prior period corrections.

Amounts falling outside these parameters have to be separately disclosed to HMRC. This can be done either by letter or using form VAT652.

 
Checking VAT Numbers

  • EU VAT numbers can still be checked by UK businesses vis VIES;
  • UK VAT numbers will be available on a separate UK database. I have tested the site and it operates in a similar way to VIES. If the number is valid, you should receive the name of the business, its trading address and a unique reference number. If it is invalid, you will get a unique reference number and a message stating that the number is invalid.

Link below to HMRC’s guidance:

 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-it-system-changes-for-businesses-outside-the-uk-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-with-no-deal?utm_source=234761d4-c05c-4cc4-a4ee-d465fa08e8fa&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate#contents

Do you need extra information?

Ruth Corkin - Prinicipal - VAT and Indirect Tax Advisory at Hillier Hopkins

Ruth has been involved with VAT for over 30 years. She started her VAT career as a Customs and Excise Officer in Essex and then moved into consultancy with a variety of well-known accountancy firms. She is well known in the VAT world and is the proud author of many articles and technical works.

Contact Ruth at ruth.corkin@hhllp.co.uk or on +44 (0)1908 713860

Based at the following office - Milton Keynes, Watford and London