VAT registration changes from 1 August

Changes to VAT registration processes from 1 August will see taxpayers automatically signed up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT. Incomplete registration applications will need to be submitted by 31 July or will be lost.

The recently released Agent Update 98 contained the following information from HMRC about upcoming changes to VAT registration:

“Updates to the VAT Registration Service (VRS) from 1 August

HMRC has been developing a new VAT Registration Service (VRS) which will speed up the process and improve our security. We have been testing the service throughout the past 18 months and have now had over 37,000 customers successfully register their own business. The next step is to switch on the new functionality for Agents, at which time we will divert all new applications from the legacy service. One of the key changes is that every customer will be automatically signed up to Making Tax Digital as part of registration, removing the need for that extra step.

The service will go live on 1 August 2022. We recommend that if you have incomplete, unsubmitted VAT applications for your customers, that these are submitted by 31 July 2022 at 5pm. Any partially completed, saved applications on the old service will be lost after this time. You will however have the same functionality in the new service to save applications for up to 4 weeks before submitting them.

Any further details surrounding the new service will be published in future Agent Updates.”