Readers’ forum: Supplies invoice issued late

One of my clients has an unusual VAT problem with partial exemption. His business purchased computer consultancy services for £80 000 plus VAT and the expense is linked to both his exempt and taxable supplies ie a business overhead.

The expenditure related to the first quarter of 2024 but the consultant delayed issuing his invoice until 1 May 2024 for no apparent reason other than he was too busy to issue invoices.

My client’s taxable income has declined since 1 April 2024 so my view is that we should claim input tax of 65% on the invoice ie £16 000 x 65% which was the partial exemption recovery rate for the year ended 31 March 2024.

However a colleague disagrees and says that the invoice date is the only date that can be used for input tax purposes producing a recovery rate which...