HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced a pair of penalty systems for late filing and late payment under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT, which is due to come into effect in April 2019.
Late filing will attract penalty points, which will accrue on the basis of how late the filing is and how many filings have been submitted late. After four late submissions, a penalty will be charged for each late submission. Points will be wiped after four compliant submissions.
A separate system will apply to late payments, with penalties applying after 15 days, and then doubling after 30 days, with daily penalties charged thereafter.
There will be a ‘soft landing’ period for late submissions during the first year of MTD for VAT, but this will not apply to the requirement for digital record keeping, which must be in place immediately.
The Government confirmed last year that MTD will not apply to other taxes until 2020 at the earliest.
