VATREG40650 - Registration in respect of acquisitions from other Member States: requests for retrospective registration
Schedule 3, paragraphs 3(2), 4(1) and 4(2) allow traders to negotiate an earlier date of registration but only at the time of application. However, the trader may not go back more than three years from a current date.
For traders who are already registered, such requests are to be refused.
For traders who have previously been registered but who are not currently registered, registration may only be backdated as far as the date of the Effective Date of Cancellation provided the trader had an entitlement to be registered for the whole period. Further guidance can be found in VATREG03000.