Take Care with VAT
Newsletter issue - January 2011.
The VATman expects all businesses to take reasonable care when completing their quarterly VAT returns. If you make a mistake, which results in the VAT being underpaid, the VATman is likely to charge you a penalty. Penalties can also be applied where a mistake results in you claiming a higher VAT refund than is due.
If the VATman believes your careless behaviour led to the error, he will impose a penalty of between 15% and 30% of the underpaid (or over-claimed) VAT. If you can show that you took reasonable care when completing your VAT return, but still made a mistake, you should get away with a zero penalty.
Reasonable care can be demonstrated by taking any of the following actions, when faced with a VAT problem:
- Contact your supplier to query the VAT charged on their invoice.
- Read the VAT notice or VAT Information Sheet that relates to the issue, (if there is one).
- Speak to a VAT officer and make a note of the advice given.
- Seek advice from a competent adviser.
We can help you with your VAT problems, but please raise the matter with us as soon it occurs. Sometimes it can take a while to get to the bottom of a VAT issue, so its best not to leave the problem on the shelf until the day before the VAT return has to be filed!