VATDREG15000 - Re-registration after cancellation
The wording of VAT Act 1994, Schedules 1 and 3 prevents us from reinstating a person to the register without their agreement. If the customer wishes to reinstate then they must do so before the next return would be due, this will reinstate their original VRN and will create the effect of never having been deregistered. After this date, the system will not accept any changes and we cannot reinstate. If we do not have agreement, we must re-register the person subject to the normal rules. If we do this, the person will have a period of non-registration and a new VAT number unless they meet the ‘forward look’ criterion. See VATREG18200.The starting date for calculating the relevant turnover will depend on whether the person misled us into deregistering them.
Schedule 1, paragraph 1(4) provides that, once a person has cancelled their registration, we will usually disregard any turnover from the previous period of registration when we are calculating when they become liable to register again. You can find more guidance on this point in VATREG18150.
We will not disregard this turnover where a person has withheld any relevant information or misled the Department at the time of cancellation.
Where we include the turnover for the previous period of registration, the earliest the person could be liable to re-register is the end of the month of deregistration with the registration date a month and a day later.
This means that those who misled the department may be liable to register again sooner than those who have provided all relevant information at the time of deregistering. This provision stops the disregard of previous turnover for a person who was not actually eligible to deregister.
Example
On 22 April, a person deregistered but had misled the department when stating their liability to register had ceased. They did this despite the fact that their turnover was still above the VAT registration threshold at the date of deregistration. We will therefore not disregard their previous turnover when calculating their EDR.
If we have their agreement, the original VAT number can be immediately reinstated.
If we do not have agreement to reinstate, we must re-register the person subject to the normal rules.
| Timeline | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration threshold exceeded (backward look) | 22 April |
| Trader becomes liable to be registered | 30 April |
| ER will be | 1 June |
Schedule 1A and 3A both provide that the EDR is the day liability arose and there is no exclusion of previous supplies from the calculation. Therefore, immediate reinstatement using the original VAT number is permitted if registered under either of these schedules.
A person can register voluntarily at any time after cancelling as long as they have an entitlement to be registered.