VAT surcharges and penalties that need to be considered fall into two broad categories:

• Late submission and payment
• Regulatory penalties

See MTD for VAT requirements in detail

Late submission and payment 

Legislation to introduce a new system of penalties for late submission of VAT returns was introduced by Finance Act 2021 (s116 and Schs 24 and 25).

Finance Act 2021 also introduced new penalties for late payment of VAT (s117 and Sch 26) and the charging of interest on late paid VAT (s120 and Sch 29).

Summaries of the rules are available on gov.uk:

• Penalty points and penalties if you submit your VAT Return late - GOV.UK
• Remove penalty points you’ve received after submitting your VAT Return late - GOV.UK
• How late payment penalties work if you pay VAT late - GOV.UK
• Late payment interest if you do not pay VAT or penalties on time - GOV.UK
• Repayment interest on VAT credits or overpayments - GOV.UK

More detailed guidance is available in HMRC’s internal manuals, which are aimed at HMRC officers but available to all:

• CH192000 - Penalty reform: penalties for failing to file VAT returns by the due date for periods from 1 January 2023 - GOV.UK
• CH193000 - Penalty reform: penalties for failure to pay VAT on time from 1 January 2023 - GOV.UK
• CH140000 - Interest - GOV.UK

Regulatory penalties

Filing method penalty

HMRC has the power to charge a penalty of up to £400 for filing a VAT return other than electronically without the prior agreement of HMRC (reg. 25A, VAT regulations 1995, SI 1995/2518). This power has been rarely used but has been extended to the obligation to file VAT returns using MTD functional compatible software.

General regulatory penalty

HMRC has the power to charge a penalty for failure to comply with certain regulatory requirements (s69 (1), VAT Act 1994). The penalty rates for such a failure are:

• If there has been no previous failure to comply with the requirement within two years prior to the present failure - £5 per day.
• If there had been only one such occasion in that period - £10 per day.
• In any other case - £15 per day.

There is a minimum penalty of £50. The penalty rate is applied to the number of days a failure continues up to a maximum of 100 days.

These penalties are not automatic. The penalty can only be charged if HMRC has issued a written warning within the previous two years (s76(2), VAT Act 1994). These penalties also apply to breaches of the MTD VAT regulations including the requirement for digital links.

Record keeping penalty

HMRC has the power to charge a penalty for failure to keep the required VAT records (s69(2), VAT Act 1994). The maximum penalty is £500. This penalty cannot be charged in addition to the general regulatory penalty outlined above. The Tax Faculty’s understanding is that the general regulatory penalty is more likely to be used by HMRC.

Other VAT penalties

There are other VAT-related penalties that are unaffected by MTD requirements but may need to be considered. These include:

• Inaccuracy penalties. HMRC has the power to charge tax- geared penalties where there is an under-declaration of VAT due to an inaccuracy. The percentage penalty charged depends on HMRC’s view of the type of behaviour and whether the disclosure was unprompted or prompted
• Failure to register for VAT
• Failure to notify HMRC within 30 days of a VAT notice of assessment of tax that it is too low.

Appeals

There is a formal right of appeal against each of the different types of penalty. Possible grounds for appeal are

• reasonable excuse for late filing, payment or other failure to comply with the regulations
• in relation to inaccuracy penalties, that the trader took reasonable care to avoid errors and inaccuracies when filing their VAT return

These grounds for appeal will continue unchanged; if there is an issue connected with introducing new systems and processes this may be a relevant factor when appealing against a penalty.