Fifty days to process VAT applications
Delays blamed on legislation, protecting system from abuse
High risk VAT applications are expected to take as long as 50 days to
process, HM Revenue & Customs has
warned businesses.
The taxman is meant to clear complete and low risk applications within two
weeks, but is taking 38 days on average to complete a registration, according to
reports.
HMRC blamed the delays on the rise in registrations due to
the
Managed Service Companies legislation, the need to prevent abuse of the
system, the consolidation of VAT offices and IT problems.
It predicts that some improvement would be visible from the autumn, although
it may be early 2008 before it meets its target.
Further reading:
VAT recovery on home PCs ‘withdrawn’
Anti-fraud measures slowing VAT registration
ICAEW demands compensation for VAT backlog