HMRC has added a new section to its VAT Notice 700/12: How to fill in and submit the VAT return setting out clear guidance on a number of very basic points relating to completion of paper versions of the VAT return, suggesting that it receives numerous errors along these lines. New section 3.1 Completing a paper return notes that the paper form will be read by a machine rather than a human, and asks taxpayers and agents to do the following:
use black ink;
write within the lines of the boxes;
write 0.00 (or 0 if no pence is required) if a box does not apply, rather than striking it through or writing anything in it;
not enter more than one amount in any box; and
insert a minus sign before a negative amount (for example, -1000.00 if there is a negative amount in boxes 1 to 3).
HMRC has added a new section to its VAT Notice 700/12: How to fill in and submit the VAT return setting out clear guidance on a number of very basic points relating to completion of paper versions of the VAT return, suggesting that it receives numerous errors along these lines. New section 3.1 Completing a paper return notes that the paper form will be read by a machine rather than a human, and asks taxpayers and agents to do the following:
use black ink;
write within the lines of the boxes;
write 0.00 (or 0 if no pence is required) if a box does not apply, rather than striking it through or writing anything in it;
not enter more than one amount in any box; and
insert a minus sign before a negative amount (for example, -1000.00 if there is a negative amount in boxes 1 to 3).
