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Since 1 May 1997 VAT input tax cannot be claimed more than three years after the date by which the return for the prescribed accounting period in which the VAT became chargeable is required to be made (Regulation 29(1A), VAT Regulations 1995).
Since 1 May 1997 VAT input tax cannot be claimed more than three years after the date by which the return for the prescribed accounting period in which the VAT became chargeable is required to be made (Regulation 29(1A), VAT Regulations 1995).
Occasionally, a taxpayer might receive a VAT invoice more than three years after goods or services were supplied to him. This may happen, for example, when a supplier's registration has been backdated and he is required to pay VAT on supplies made in earlier years; or when standard-rated supplies have been correctly treated as zero rated. Normally input tax credit would be blocked by Regulation 29, but Customs will, by concession, allow the taxpayer to reclaim the VAT as input tax provided the normal rules for deduction of input tax are satisfied and he has paid the VAT requested by the supplier, and the supplier has paid the VAT arrears owing to Customs. In these circumstances, the three years time limit will start from the date of receipt of the VAT invoice.
Although this concession is mentioned in Customs' internal guidance, it does not appear in any published list of extra-statutory concessions. Moreover, it would seem that VAT officers are generally unaware of its existence.
Joseph Wilkins,
NWT VAT Consultants,
Preston.
