HMRC Interface Tab of the Tax File Generation Form

Use this tab to run a Tax Detail Report for a reporting period, retrieve VAT obligations from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and submit the VAT Return to HMRC.

This tab displays only when you select the UK VAT Return file format on the General tab of the Tax File Generation form.

You first need to populate the grid on this tab by entering dates in the Start Date and End Date fields for the periods you want to obtain VAT obligations from HMRC.

Click the Retrieve VAT Obligation button to obtain data from HMRC for the periods that you entered. If your HMRC access token for the active company is not valid, an HMRC Authorization dialog box displays when you click the button. To connect with HMRC, see Obtain HMRC Authorization.

Fields

Field Description
VAT Registration Number

This field prefills with the number entered in the Tax Registration Number field on the Tax Auditing tab in Configuration > Accounting > Company Settings for the active company.

This field is editable if you have multiple companies in Vision, and you have not selected the Include all companies with the same Tax Registration Number check box on this tab.

You can enter any alphanumeric characters or special characters, such as a comma, colon, or period in this field. When you change the tax registration number in this field, it does not change the tax registration number on the Tax Auditing tab in Configuration > Accounting > Company Settings.

You may need to change the prefilled tax registration number in the VAT Registration Number field before you generate a VAT return file for a subsidiary company that is part of a group of companies that you will submit as a single HMRC submission. If the subsidiary company does not have the group's HMRC tax registration number entered for it on the Tax Auditing tab in Accounting Company Settings, you can change the tax number in the VAT Registration Number to the group number before you generate the VAT return file for the subsidiary company.

Include all companies with the same Tax Registration Number

This check box displays if you track multiple companies in Vision.

The check box applies when you generate UK VAT data for a group of companies as a single HMRC submission. The group consists of a main company and subsidiary companies that all use the same tax registration number that is registered with HCRM.

When you process a UK VAT return for a group of companies, you:

  1. Generate a VAT return file (with the Generate File button on the Tax Generation form). You do this individually for each of the subsidiary companies in the group and then for the main company in the group.

    Perform this step with the Include all companies with the same Tax Registration Number check box cleared. With the check box cleared, you can change the tax registration number that prefills in the VAT Registration Number field if needed. Be sure that all subsidiary companies use the same HMRC tax registration number that the main company will use when the VAT data for the group is submitted to HMRC (step 3).

  2. Generate a VAT return file (Generate File button on the Tax Generation form) for the main company with the Include all companies with the same Tax Registration Number check box selected.

    The VAT return file for the group contains the combined data for all the subsidiary companies and the main company to make a single group submission to HMRC for that VAT registration number and reporting period.

  3. With the main company open in Vision, use the HMRC Interface tab on the Tax Generation form to retrieve VAT submission data from HMRC and submit VAT data to HMRC for the group.

    Perform these steps with the Include all companies with the same Tax Registration Number check box selected.

Start Date Enter the start date for the information you want from HMRC.
End Date

Enter the end date for information you want from HMRC. The end date cannot be for a future period. The start and end dates together cannot cover more than a 366 day range.

Retrieve VAT Obligations

Click this button to retrieve VAT data for the selected dates from HMRC and display it as rows in the HMRC Data grid. This button is available when you specify the start and end dates. HMRC states that as long as the obligation Start or End date falls within the selection range, it will be retrieved.

Grid Command Buttons

Field Description
Get VAT Data Click this button to retrieve tax file generation data for the period in the currently selected row. This button is available only when the selected row's Status value is O (Open). If you have run a final Tax File Generation for the period of this row, the amount fields display the generated values. If no data is found, an informational message displays and you most likely need to run Tax File Generation for the specified period.
Submit VAT Obligation Click this button to submit your VAT information to HMRC. This button is available when the selected row's Status value is O (Open), the end date is prior to the current date, and all amount fields contain values, including zeros.
Tax Detail Report

Click this button to generate the UK VAT Detail report for the selected row in the grid. This button is available when you select a row that contains data in any of the amount fields.

This report shows you the Vision transactions that were used to determine the tax data in the VAT return file that you generated using the Generate File option on the toolbar of the Tax File Generation form. Review the report to verify that the correct transactions were used for each box number.

When you select a row in the grid for a single VAT return submission for a group of companies, the report shows the transactions for all the companies in the group.

You can also run this report when you click Generate File to create a VAT return file. After the file is created, you are asked if you want to print the detailed backup report, which is the UK VAT Detail report.

For more information, see UK VAT Detail Report.

HMRC Data Grid

Each row in this grid displays either of the following:

  • The VAT data for a reporting period that you previously submitted to HMRC, which now has a Final status. This information is retrieved from HMRC when you click the Retrieve VAT Obligation button on this tab.
  • The VAT data for a reporting period that you haven't yet submitted to HMRC, which has an Open status. When you select a row with an Open status and click Get VAT Data on the grid toolbar, the VAT data that was calculated when you generated the VAT return file in Vision prefills in the fields in the rows.

The rows are ordered by reporting period data, with the most recent period listed first.

Field Description
Start Date This field displays the reporting period start date.
End Date This field displays the reporting period end date.
Due Date This field displays the tax return due date. This value is supplied by HMRC.
Status

For periods that have already been submitted to HMRC, the status value is F for Finalized. For periods not yet submitted to HMRC, the status value is O for Open.

Because this value is supplied by HMRC, it is not updated when you press the Submit VAT Obligation button. Instead, it is updated the next time that you select Retrieve VAT Obligation. See the HMRC notes in the Received Date field description.

Received Date

This is the date HMRC reports that they received a Finalized submission. This value is supplied by HMRC, so it is not updated when you press the Submit VAT Obligation button. Instead, it is updated the next time you select Retrieve VAT Obligation.

HMRC states that the vast majority of transactions will be completed within 5 seconds; however, in some cases the delay may be longer. If the delay is longer, the process is as follows: If a submission is made Monday to Thursday during normal working hours, the obligation will be updated by the following morning (this may be earlier in some cases). If the return is received after 6:00 p.m. on a Friday, then it is possible that the obligation will not be marked as fulfilled until the following Tuesday (or possibly Wednesday if there is a bank holiday). The obligation will be marked as met on the date that it is received from the software, so a customer will not receive a penalty if the return was provided within the required time.

VAT Due Sales This field displays the Box 1 sum.
VAT Due Acquisitions This field displays the Box 2 sum.
Total VAT Due This field displays the sum of Box 1 and Box 2.
VAT Reclaimed Current Period This field displays the Box 4 sum.
Net VAT Due This field displays the Total VAT Due minus Box 4 amount.
Total Value Sales Excluding VAT This field displays the Box 6 sum.
Total Value Purchases Excluding VAT This field displays the Box 7 sum.
Total Value Goods Supplied Excluding VAT This field displays the Box 8 sum.
Total Acquisitions Excluding VAT This field displays the Box 9 sum.