HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are currently looking closely at the tax affairs of businesses which have not submitted all their VAT returns.
All businesses which are VAT registered but which had VAT returns outstanding (and may therefore have underpaid VAT) were given until the end of February to bring everything up to date, under the VAT Outstanding Returns Campaign.
This was an opportunity for businesses to submit outstanding VAT returns and also bring payments up to date. To have taken advantage of the best possible terms you would have needed to complete and submit all your outstanding returns by 28 February 2013.
If you missed that opportunity and still have some VAT returns outstanding, it is really important to submit them now. You may have already incurred some surcharges / penalties if you have underpaid VAT - but don’t allow these extra costs to continue to mount up further.
In addition to financial penalties, failure to lodge VAT returns could well trigger an HMRC investigation into other aspects of your tax.
Virtually all VAT-registered businesses must now submit their VAT Returns online and make payments to HMRC electronically. If you are experiencing any difficulties with getting the right processes in place, or would like help to bring outstanding returns up to date so that you can move forward on the right footing, please contact Gareth Stokes.
