VAT - Error 503 on submission of return

Support
1

Hi,
Can someone confirm that this error is a problem at HMRC’s end ?

Also the advice given by quickfile was to back roll the submission and submit again. This I did. The backrolled submission does not have a submit button on it so I created a new submission. This also did not go.

So… I now have one submission tagged as rolled back and one submission tagged as saved. Neither have a submission button.

I’m worried that this is getting a bit messy , what do I do when the error is sorted. Deadline was today of course …Grrr !

2

What does HMRC think? Can you see the submitted return when you log in to tax.service.gov.uk? The fact that QuickFile didn’t let you “submit” the new return following your rollback (only “save” it) strongly suggests to me that your return did in fact go through successfully, and the 503 error was some sort of timeout in the API that meant QuickFile never saw the confirmation response.

If it is showing as submitted on gov.uk, and QuickFile has a “saved” return with matching figures, then everything is fine and you don’t need to do anything further - HMRC have your return and QuickFile has things correctly reconciled.

If it’s not showing as submitted on HMRC then you should be able to roll back the “saved” return in QuickFile and then prepare and submit a replacement for the same period.

3

Hello @Keepitsimple

Please refer to the states page for updates.

4

I foolishly left my return until Saturday as well and now today VAT online helpdesk do not want to answer the phone, so there must be a lot of calls relating to the weekends problems.
They also had downtime on Sunday for something scheduled maybe that didn’t go to plan either.

5

Hello @Julesp

I had a look at the account linked to your email.

In the Reports > Vat Returns > Create screen the period is showing as open.

In this case I would reccomend opening your saved return, rolling it back and re submitting.

6

Does any one know how to re-submit a rolled back submission?
I have a return that I rolled back but cannot find how to re-submit?

thanks

7

Hi @QFSteve,

Yes I have tried doing that and each time I get the following message

We’re having a problem preparing your VAT Return

Error: DUPLICATE_SUBMISSION - The VAT return was already submitted for the given period.

8

@eddief

Yes, just click on create again and select the open vat return that you want to submit and the figures will appear again.

9

Hello @Julesp

As per the prompt “If the subsequent attempt results in a DUPLICATE_SUBMISSION response, no further action is required at this time.”

Just leave the return as Saved.

10

@QFSteve

Lets hope they don’t issue penalty points, they have conveniently switched off their phone lines.

11

I received this this morning. Where do we go from here?

VAT - Submission Errors

On Saturday, 7th December, we observed an increased error rate from the HMRC VAT gateway. This issue may have caused error responses when submitting VAT returns.

If you were affected, we recommend rolling back your submission and attempting to resubmit your VAT return. If the subsequent attempt results in a DUPLICATE_SUBMISSION response, no further action is required at this time.

We have reported this issue to HMRC and are awaiting further guidance.

If you have any concerns or require assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your understanding.

12

I rolled back, but no option to resubmit.

It does, however, look like it has actually been successfully submitted, so how do I mark my ‘rolled back’ submission as ‘submitted’ once again?

13

When you roll back you have to click on create again

14

Hello @4Minutes

You can not submit a period twice under MTD but you will need to save the period as to not affect your next return.

I will send you a private message on how to do this…

1 Like
15

I have spoken to HMRC and they say my return was received on the 7th.

The guy said when their first 60 calls this morning asked the same question they knew there was a problem with their third party link.
Phone lines were switched off until 12.45 today and they still haven’t been told what happened althought they are aware the problem started on Friday ( code for we know what happened but we are not going to tell you :grinning: )
So hopefully everyone’s vat has been submitted.

16

Thanks for that update @Julesp - I’m sure that’s a relief for you, and other users.

1 Like
17

Thank you to everyone for your help. I rolled back the saved return and created another and this went through late Sunday night !

It seems that it was definitely an error at HMRC;s end.

Kind Regards

Darren

18

Hi @QFSteve

Please could you send me the information on how to do this as well as I have the same query/issue?

19

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20

Today we have see a few accounts receive this message when submitting a return

HMRC Error Code: 503, Status: SERVER_ERROR, Message: Service unavailable

This error originates on HMRC’ servers.

We would advise

  • Do not rollback the return.
  • Contact HMRC to confirm they received the return

If return is showing as “Filed” in your Reports > Vat Returns > Create screen and you have rolled back.

You can not re submit a filed return but you have to save a copy as to not impact the next return.

To do this

  • Go into Report > Vat Returns > Settings
  • Set the HMRC account to “No electronic filing” > Save
  • Go into Report > Vat Returns > Create >
  • Enter the period > If the figures are correct > Submit (this will save a copy of the return as a placeholder)
  • Go back into Report > Vat Returns > Settings
  • Set the HMRC account back to your company > Save