19 November: HMRC confirms access to the EU VAT refund system will end on 31 March 2021 and claims relating to VAT incurred after 31 December 2020 will have to be made manually.

In an update to its guidance on how UK firms can reclaim VAT incurred in an EU country and how EU firms can reclaim UK VAT, HMRC has confirmed that the facility to use the EU VAT refund system will end on 31 March 2021.

Up until that point firms in the UK and those in the EU will be able to use the system to amend and view claims relating to VAT incurred before 1 January 2021.

Claims relating to VAT incurred after that date will have to be made manually to the individual tax authorities concerned.

The guidance also confirms that EU businesses won’t be able to start making claims for UK VAT charged on or after 1 January 2021 until 1 April 2021.

• HMRC guidance for UK firms
• HMRC guidance for EU firms