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MTD platform delays.

 


HM Revenue & Customs’ new platform for companies to register to pay value added tax has «caused havoc», according to advisers, sparking wider concerns about the agency’s plans to overhaul its systems. Its ultimate aim is to automate returns and payments for companies and households for all the main taxes. But Ruth Corkin, technical chair of the VAT Practitioners Group, which brings together tax agents from across the country, said «the new system has caused havoc, to put it mildly» and that «the delays are horrendous». Richard Wild, head of tax technical at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, said the new platform had been «introduced with limited testing by agents, little forewarning, and inadequate guidance».

Companies with annual turnover exceeding £85,000 must register for VAT. Monthly VAT applications received by HMRC this year have ranged from 25,000 to 70,000. «We have had so much contact about this,» said Caroline Miskin, senior technical manager of the ICAEW. UK businesses can trade in the period between applying for and receiving a number, but Corkin said there was a «huge administrative burden» in that time as companies prepared to send delayed invoices.
Corkin added that foreign sellers faced the worst delays, which HMRC attributed to checks and replies taking longer, and that «a lot of online traders I know have said, ‘we’re just not going to trade in the UK’ ». Emma Rawson, technical officer at the Association of Taxation Technicians, said HMRC should ensure «they do not launch any new IT services until they are confident they are fit for purpose and have been robustly tested». According to the authority’s service dashboard, VAT registration has recently been operating a «normal service», aiming to respond to applications within 40 working days. The service level agreement was recently increased from 30 working days.

www.sba.tax.

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  1. Nate15 November 2022 at 10:44

    I don't know about you but for me, 40 working days to respond to applications is just unacceptable. They have to do what they must to get this time to 14-20 days max. We're in 2022, not in 1990.

    ReplyDelete

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