VAT Registration delay

[booms]

Hi all,

I started my business nearly three months ago, and my accountant applied for VAT registration (under the flat rate scheme) back then – but I still don’t have a VAT registration number.

Does anyone have any insight into what I should do, or why it might be delayed?

My accountant tells me there’s a massive backlog at HMRC, and it’s even mentioned on the HMRC VAT registration helpline recorded message, but three months seems to be a bit silly.

My accountant tell me they’ve provided everything HMRC has asked for, but I haven’t been blown away by my accountants in general.

What’s frustrating is that when I call the HMRC, I can only speak to the general VAT registration helpline who have no insight into my application, and all they can do is ‘put a note’ on my file for the responsible HMRC officer to contact my accountant, and that they won’t contact me directly.

It occurs to me that the nuclear option would be to just fire my accountant and at least then I could communicate directly with HMRC.

Any thoughts or tips?

[Lance]

Ask your accountant for evidence that he's applied. 3 months is an awful long time and that's 3 months less VAT they can collect so seems very unlikely.

[BrilloPad]

Why is VAT so important to you?

Carry on invoicing - less the VAT.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Have you informed your clients and mentioned on your invoices that a VAT registration is in progress? I'd be concerned that the registration will eventually come though backdated to when your accountant first applied and you'll find yourself having to account for VAT on your sales since that date (and having to reissue invoices).

[SteelyDan]

this sometimes happens when you first start out. Remedy is, as per TCP, mention on yr invoices that VAT registration is pending (hence you're not including VAT at this stage), then once it comes through, issue a separate VAT only invoice. Balance restored.

I'd ignore this advice:

Lance
Ask your accountant for evidence that he's applied. 3 months is an awful long time and that's 3 months less VAT they can collect so seems very unlikely.

[VectraMan]

A quick google confirms this is true. Mine was just over a year ago and only took 2 weeks, so I don't know why things have gone downhill so fast.

I'm sure the rush of contractors leaving the FRS won't help.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Sometimes VAT reg can take a fortnight, sometimes it can take upwards of three months. We do lots of registrations and there doesn't seem to be any pattern or cause for the quick ones or the delays. It's just one of the frustrations dealing with HMRC day-to-day. Seems a bit extreme to fire your accountant about something they have. I control over.

[SueEllen]

Sometimes VAT reg can take a fortnight, sometimes it can take upwards of three months. We do lots of registrations and there doesn't seem to be any pattern or cause for the quick ones or the delays. It's just one of the frustrations dealing with HMRC day-to-day. Seems a bit extreme to fire your accountant about something they have. I control over.

So it depends on when the people at HMRC who actually do some damn work go on holiday how long registrations take.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Sometimes VAT reg can take a fortnight, sometimes it can take upwards of three months. We do lots of registrations and there doesn't seem to be any pattern or cause for the quick ones or the delays. It's just one of the frustrations dealing with HMRC day-to-day. Seems a bit extreme to fire your accountant about something they have. I control over.

Concur. Its frustrating. It should be an automatic process, but they are so fraud paranoid that it slows to a snails pace. Politics on the rights & wrongs aside, its why I worry about HMRC trying to cope with tax aspects of Brexit and bring in MTD, for that matter new IR35 regime, at the same time. They are simply not able to cope. /hobbyhorseoff

On a practical level, Alan, don't know if you've found the same, but tweaking the trade description can help. Because of Missing Trader Fraud anything that mentions IT, more so IT hardware, can cause angst. "Business consulting" or a white space note that there is no dealing in hardware etc, can help.

[SlipTheJab]

Why is VAT so important to you?

Carry on invoicing - less the VAT.

TBH What with the changes coming in soonish I wouldn't bother getting VAT registered unless I absolutely had to, makes you 20% cheaper and less hassle all round.