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Posted Tue, 01 Aug 2023 06:24:33 GMT by
Hi, My accountants registered my UK based Ltd company for VAT last month and we got a letter from HMRC confirming that the VAT registration had been approved and we were provided with a VAT number.
Previously, I was unable to add the VAT number to my HMRC account as it said I had to wait until the date the number becomes active, which is 1st August 2023. Today, I have managed to successfully add the account to my HMRC account and also downloaded a copy of my company's valid VAT certificate.
However, when using the HMRC Vat Number Checker website, our VAT number is still being reported as invalid. https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number
Upon doing a Google search, I have found many other people who experienced this issue, dating back over 1 year and as recent as 2 months ago. The response from the admins of this forum was that this was an issue HMRC are aware of and are urgently trying to resolve. Has this still not been resolved?
Or is this just a matter of waiting a bit longer for the HMRC database to be updated? The VAT number was issued on 13th July 2023 and the registration active date is 1st August 2023 (Today).
Look forward to any advice you may have.
Posted Wed, 02 Aug 2023 12:28:31 GMT by HMRC Admin 13 Response
Hi .Unfortunately this is still an issue which is effecting a limited number of newly VAT registered traders. We are working urgently to resolve this. In the meantime can you call our Helpline on 03002003700 so that we can pass on your VAT number to our IT Team who are looking in to this.
Posted Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:11:02 GMT by
Hi, Thank you for the quick response. It's a little concerning that this is an issue HMRC have been trying to 'urgently' resolve for over a year. The good news for anyone else with a similar problem is that the issue resolved itself later in the day. It looks like a delay with the HMRC vat checker database - so you need to give it around 24 hours to update to show your new VAT ID as valid after its registration date.

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