VAT refund not paid

We were due a VAT refund for June 23 to August 23 but the cheque never arrived. I finally got to chat online with an operator and was advised that the refund had been stopped and the funds paid to other tax accounts. We were not informed of this and no payment certificates were issued. This seems like the sub-postmaster's problem, how do I obtain documentation of this action?

What do you mean "paid to other tax accounts?" Do you mean your business had other tax liabilities (corporation tax/paye) and HMRC have offset your VAT refund against those other taxes or are you saying HMRC have issued the refund to an entirely different company unconnected to you.

We were sent an email saying that a cheque for the refund had been posted to us. The cheque did not arrive within 6 weeks and then I finally found a way to ask what had happened I was advised that from the refund of £3036.93, £2179.59 was transferred to PAYE and £857.34 was transferred to Corporation Tax. So the cheque was not posted so the email was incorrect. We were not advised that this transfer of money was taking place and that no refund cheque would be sent. We have received no receipt of payment. where do we obtain this information and documents?

Before the £857.34 was taken from our VAT refund our Corporation Tax account balance showed £6483.82, Now that the £857.34 has been taken there is no indication of the Corporation Tax balance being reduced by that amount. Where has the money gone?

£2179.59 of the VAT refund was transferred to PAYE but I have no mechanism to view the PAYE costs & payments where do I go to achieve this?

Thanks Peter for the extra information. It is probably going to need a formal response from HMRC Admin (I'm a third party here to try and help on some queries in my own time) but at least the extra information will now help HMRC Admin in finding the right answer. It is not unusual for HMRC to offset a VAT refund against other taxes and in my years of experience, they don't usually tell you in writing, they just do it and then you have to call HMRC to find out more. Not sure why you were advised refund was issued by cheque when it wasn't, suspect that was an automated email that is sent when a refund is due and no bank details are held by HMRC. You may have better luck calling Debt Management team as they have wider access to all the taxes and may be able to draw a better picture of what has gone on. But lets await HMRC Admin to see if they can offer further assistance.

Hi Jason Thank you for your response, how do I contact the debt management team? Regards Pete

Hi,

Please contact our VAT team so we can check your account.

VAT: general enquiries

Thank you.