Application to amend the effective date of registration

The company registered for VAT on 1 August 2016. The registration process was carried out by an employee working for the company’s external accountants under the direction of the company director. He wrongly thought that he could claim input tax on all expenses for the previous four years before registering so requested that the registration date be backdated to 14 December 2011. However this date was a mistake because a business can only request a voluntary registration date going back four years so the requested date was adjusted to 7 September 2012. 

HMRC refused to backdate the registration. It said it had discretion to allow such requests (VATA 1994 Sch 1 para 9) but the business had specifically asked to be registered from 1 August 2016 so the backdating request was refused.

HMRC guidance on amending registration dates is in its VAT Registration Manual at VATREG25400...