How do I see a record of my VAT registration application?

I submitted a VAT registration application on 16 Feb and received a confirmation email with the unique reference number, and have since had no communication from HMRC (having heard their helpline automated messages / seen discussion I hear it is long delays). However, I used to be able to see on my government gateway account a very high-level record that the application had been submitted, and when I checked 2 weeks ago it still showed that. Now there is nothing / no record of my application other than this confirmation email. Should I not be able to see the record of this application when I log in to my GG account?

It is my understanding that the new registration process shows the submission for about two weeks and is then removed from the screen, the application is still submitted, but no longer shows on your gateway - it makes no sense whatsoever. The messaging system has also been retired, so the only way to check progress is to call HMRC, which only adds to the burden HMRC are already dealing with - there was an opportunity here for HMRC to automate a chunk of queries people call in to the helpline for - instead HMRC removed it. You will only know when a VAT number has been issued when the client and agent receive a letter in the post. You will not get any messages on your gateway and you will not get any emails to say processing complete/VAT number issued.

Hi.
Can you please contact our Registration Team on 0300 322 7870 who will progress chase this for you.
Thankyou.

As we cannot do vat registration online we sent letter by post on 27 April 2023 that we like to re-instate old vat number ceased 2017. But no communication from VT team until now. We also sent new registration form by post on June 2023 but no reply until now. What should we do please

Hello Amr it seems to be that we share the same struggle please update me on your situation or leave me ur fb or something i can contact you with

Amr. You cannot reinstate your old VAT number, you have a couple of weeks from being deregistered to reinstate it, but here you deregistered in 2017 so your old VAT number is dead. You will have to submit a new VAT registration, which you have done in June 2023. HMRC have had severe backlog of VAT registrations and can take up to 3 months for them to look at and reply to, you can contact the 0300 322 7870 after 40 days of waiting from date of submission to HMRC. Yassinedr - As above, HMRC dealing with backlog of applications, they are working hard to reduce the processing time but still taking about 2-3 months to process, you can chase HMRC on the above number after 40 days.

Hi,
It would be very unlikely that we would reinstate a VAT number from 2017.
At the moment Registrations are taking about 40 working days,if you have not heard anything by then please email the Registration Team on vrs.newregistrations@hmrc.gov.uk
Thank you.

Hello Yassinedr I called VAT general enquiry helpline again choosing option online issues. They suggested me to remove old deregister vat tax account under my government gateway account and then add new vat account and submit new vat registration form online again. Starting afresh but they suggested this traceable at least but waiting another 40 days again so fingers crossed

Hello everyone, I'm reaching out to this community for some urgent advice and guidance. I've been attempting to get in touch with HMRC for the past two weeks regarding my VAT number application, with absolutely no luck. I've tried both email and phone communications, but I haven't received any response or acknowledgment. To provide some context, I used a third-party service to assist me with setting up my company and they guided me through submitting my VAT number application. It has been over 9 weeks since the application was submitted, and I still haven't received any updates. The delay is beginning to impact my business operations significantly. Has anyone else experienced this kind of issue? What steps did you take to resolve it? Also, if anyone has advice on how best to contact HMRC or expedite the process, I'd be incredibly grateful. Looking forward to hearing your experiences and suggestions. Best regards,

 

Hi. I'm sorry you are suffering from this delay. Please either email the registration Team on newregistrations.vrs@hmrc.gov.uk or call our Helpline on 03002003700 so that we can progress chase the application for you .

Thank you.

Hi, I write another email adressed to the registration Team I hope they answer as soon as possible. Ps: You gave me the wrong email, apperentrly the right email is " vrs.newregistrations@hmrc.gov.uk ". Can you check that for me please? Thank you @HMRC Admin 17

Hi STR_cad,

Sorry. The correct email address is vrs.newregistrations@hmrc.gov.uk

Thank you.

Hi, I have recently started a new export business where I export new cars and parts from the UK. My business plan was to reclaim the 20% VAT I paid to purchase the goods once they were exported. That way I would have a good margin, whilst also having competitive prices. I just realised that VAT registration takes a while, I did apply a few days ago though. What I wanted to ask was, can I still "zero-rate", without explicitly stating on my invoice, and then reissue the invoice after my VAT registration and then reclaim the 20%? Online, it says I can reclaim goods I still have on hand for 4 years, but unsure about this case

Hi,

You are allowed to recover VAT on goods which you have on hand at the point of registration. So, for example if you buy a car on 1st June, export the car on 1st July and becaome registered for VAT on 3rd July then you will not be able to recover this VAT as input tax because the goods were already exported before your date of registration.

However if you buy the car on 1st June, export the car on 1st July and you have applied for a registration date of 30th June then you will be allowed to recover the VAT, even if the regitration application is still in process as the goods were on hand at the date of registration. You can see guidance here:

Input tax when VAT paid on goods and services received before VAT registration

Thank you.

I have same issue as above --- trying to register for VAT but when i put UTR and company number it says "don't match our records". I need to apply for VAT number ASAP and get it otherwise Amazon account will be blocked. called HMRC multiple times, their technical team says everything if fine on their side. corporation tax team says it is not a problem with them either. reported problem with page and no reply from them till now..... trying to call VAT HMRC number for paper application as you said above.....but after 30-45 min of wait time call get cancelled on it own...trying for 2 days straight and nothing ... not even able to contact anyone who can solve the issue. please see this matter. it is really urgent... i can't even request paper form because call doesn't reach to anyone from VAT team. cannot send VAT app by POST unless i receive forms by HMRC VAT team. that is making it extremely hard

It's unusual for the technical team (reporting problem with a page) not to get reply to you within a couple of days. One tip I would suggest is it may be the company name or address that is the issue. You must use the information as per Companies House, so if Companies House shows your business as "Ltd" or "Limited" you must use the exact same, for the address it should be the address/postcode as per Companies House too.

Hi Durdana Saleem,
We are sorry you have been unable to reach us about this issue.
If you are not able to contact us via phone you also have the option of using Webchat to make contact.
Our advisor will then be able to email you out a VAT 1 form.
Please see below:
VAT: general enquiries
Thank you. 

Hi, We have submitted VAT registrations through the vrs email address and further follow up requests to the same email address prior to Christmas, however, we did not receive the acknowledgements with the VRS reference number. Finally got speaking to someone last week on the VAT helpline and they were unable to source these registrations on their system. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi,

We do not accept registration applications via email and so this is the reason why you would not have had a reference number. The email address should only be used for progress chasing applications or sending additional information to us if required. Please resubmit these applications online: 

Register for VAT

Thank you.

Hi , I urgently need feedback on a VAT registration application. I need to import goods and the material is ready for export , however , I need to VAT number to complete the process. Is there any way to speed up the process ? or get feedback on when the VAT number was issued ? I have an application reference. I desperately need to get the VAT number. Regards