Country-specific updates - UK

Covid-19

• The tax authority has announced that overseas (non-EU) businesses will be allowed a further six months to submit a valid certificate of status (ie until 31 December 2021) in relation to VAT refunds for the prescribed year 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Under the relevant procedures, businesses require a certificate of business issued by their local tax authority and for the prescribed year from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, the original date for submitting such a certificate was 31 December 2020. The extension has been granted in recognition of the difficulties which businesses have had in obtaining certificates as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the extension is only available to businesses that submitted their applications (without their certificate of status) by the original deadline.

  Refund applications for the prescribed period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 still have to be submitted by 31 December 2021 but all certificates of status provided to the tax authority throughout 2021 will remain valid for that prescribed period.

• The VAT deferral scheme operated by the tax authority that allowed businesses to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June 2020 is now closed. Businesses which used the scheme had to either pay the full amount of deferred VAT by 31 March 2021, join an online payment scheme by 21 June 2021 to spread the payments or contact the tax authority to make a bespoke arrangement by 30 June 2021. Businesses which did not pay in full or make an arrangement to pay by 30 June 2021 may be charged a 5% penalty or interest.