Unable to submit an MTD VAT return

Support
1

I have tried several times to submit my first VAT return via MTD however I get a message

By ChRIS : The VAT Period you have entered 2019-04 for the VRN XXXXXXXXX was not found, please check and resubmit if necessary.where XXXXXXXXXXX is my VAR registered number…

The account is linked to HMRC and assuming the VAT period FEB/MAR/APR means FEB MAY AUG ACT in the VAT settings, I can’t see what else to change. Any advice is welcome

2

Hi @Phnuff

If you’re seeing a message from “ChRIS”, it seems that you’re using the older method of VAT submissions rather than MTD.

In the VAT settings, please can you check if “Use MTD Features” is ticked? If so, you should then be able to go to Reports >> HMRC and submit a return that way. If you already have one saved for that period, you will need to roll the saved one back first.

3

Hi Matthew
MTD features was not ticked and I tried again and it was rejected again. I then went to HMRC menu and can see

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which suggests it is connected however when I click view, I get the following message which suggests I am not connected Any idea of next steps?

You are not yet authorised to view this report for the VRN XXX XXXX XX. Please ensure your VAT number is correct and you have connected the corresponding HMRC Tax Account. If you have recently enrolled on the MTD scheme please allow 24 hours for HMRC systems to update.

4

Have you enrolled successfully for MTD, and received the email confirmation? If so, when did you receive the email?

5

I thought I had enrolled last Tuesday 28/5 although now after more than the 96 hours that was stated, I have seen no email. Does this suggest the enrollment was unsuccessful?

6

Quite possibly. The only ones who could really advise are HMRC themselves. If you call their VAT helpline, they should be able to confirm everything for you.

Alternatively, if you log into your HMRC account directly (on their website), you should see a Making Tax Digital section.

For reference however, this is the email you should receive:
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(Subject would be something like “Use software to submit your VAT Returns”)

7

I have just checked the HMRC site and the suggestion is that they have been very busy and at the moment they are not taking enrollments and that I should submit the old way without penalty (which I did over last weekend). The suggestion was also try enrollment again after 8/6 which I will. For completeness for anyone else having problems, would you like to to post the result?

Thank you for your help

8

That would be really helpful. Thank you :slight_smile:

9

Though if I remember rightly they don’t actually label it as such, they call it something like “VAT through software”

10

Following on from my question, I can confirm that I was able to register and am now waiting the 72 hours for the confirmation email. It sounds good, but I have been here before

11

My first submission will be for April-June 2019 sometime in July 2019. I hope by then HMRC will have figured out their enrollment issues.

Thanks for outlining the issues you have had. I look forward to hearing your submission was/is/will be successful.

Peter

12

This software is a TOTAL JOKE! I will use another vendor.

13

Hi @Simon_Robinson

I’m sorry to hear you feel this way.

May I ask what issues you’ve encountered? More than happy to try and assist where possible.

14

Why have you made the submission of a VAT return so difficult?

I have connected to HMRC however your software does not allow me to enter my UTR and fails to submit to HMRC even though the connection is in place

15

Hi @Simon_Robinson

There’s no need to enter a UTR for a VAT return - you just need to ensure your accounts are linked (as you have done), and enabled online filing.

Can I just ask, are the VAT returns created from the sales/purchase data in QuickFile or are they calculated elsewhere, and you’re just using QuickFile to submit them to HMRC?

16

There have been a few intermittent issues with the HMRC API today. Can’t say for sure but that may be a factor, I would definitely try again. When you start a new return you should see a message that it’s trying to connect to HMRC to get the obligation periods.

17

All I have done is the following:

  1. Create a VAT return and saved it
  2. Attempt to submit return: software says that the saved version has overlapping dates and needs to be rolled back (this makes no sense to me)
  3. Rollback the saved return
  4. Enter the new return on this page: https://wml.quickfile.co.uk/secure/reports/VatReturns/return.aspx?startDate=2019-02-01&endDate=2019-04-30&pk=0419
  5. Click submit
  6. Same message stating that the return was not submitted to HMRC
18

Thanks for the details - that’s really helpful.

If the VAT return is saved, it’s not submitted (and not possible to submit it). So firstly, ensure that the period you are submitting for has no VAT returns associated with it, otherwise you see the overlap message and causes the figures to be inaccurate.

To file a MTD return, you would need to go Reports >> HMRC >> Select your HMRC account >> VAT Obligations. From here you can select your period and check the figures generated by QuickFile.

It’s worth noting here however that for you to submit this way, the figures need to be calculated originally by QuickFile from the data on your account. If you’re not using QuickFile for your invoicing and bookkeeping, HMRC doesn’t permit you to use this route and submit an “adjustment only return”. There is a way of still doing it using the bridging module, which is why I asked how the figures were calculated above.

If you are generating the VAT return figures elsewhere, you will need to use the bridging module and upload the figures.

As my colleague, @Glenn, mentioned above, HMRC have been experiencing some issues today, so I would certainly recommend trying again to see if this works, or maybe even trying again tomorrow.

Some of these guides may be of some help for you:

Of course, any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask - it’s why we’re here.

19

Thanks for your reply but it was not helpful.

As I stated above, I used exactly the page you mentioned: Reports >> HMRC >> Select your HMRC account >> VAT Obligations

However, the submission was unsuccessful. How do you fix this?

20

Is your software broken?