HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that farmers may still submit paper VAT returns following the recent announcement that the new online system will go live from 1 April 2019.
It was reported that the advent of Making Tax Digital (MTD) would mean tax returns would move online from next year, and this would require businesses operating above the VAT threshold of £85,000 to keep digital records and submit VAT returns through HMRC financial software.
However, HMRC has now reassured farmers that businesses that currently submit offline returns will be able to continue doing so, as long as they fall under one of the approved exemptions, one of which is where internet access makes this impossible.
Many farmers, who have little or no internet access, make up some of the 15 per cent of the UK population who are “digitally excluded”, according to HMRC’s own 2015 report on digital inclusion.
According to HMRC’s existing filing exemptions for VAT criteria, people for whom online filing is not reasonably practicable, for reasons of disability, age, remoteness of location, or any other reason, will be exempt.
However, it would still be wise for farmers who have a VAT registered business and who currently operate a manual bookkeeping system to consider at least moving to computerised record-keeping.
A spokesperson for HMRC said that the current provision remains that businesses who currently submit VAT on paper but which are exempt for the reasons outlined can continue to submit on paper.
The spokesperson went on to say that HMRC will ensure that clear guidance about the exemption process is widely provided and easily accessible for digitally excluded customers. It will also ensure that a mechanism for an exemption to MTD is provided, so it can be easily applied for through non-digital means.