Value Added Tax Act 1994 section 5-8

Notification of liability and registration

Section 5-8 of Schedule 1 sets out the deadlines and procedures for notifying HMRC of a liability to register for VAT, and the effective dates from which registration takes effect, depending on how the liability arises.

• Where VAT registration liability arises because taxable turnover has exceeded the threshold at the end of a month (the historic test), the person must notify HMRC within 30 days of that month-end and will be registered from the end of the following month, or an earlier agreed date.
• Where registration liability arises because taxable supplies are expected to exceed the threshold in the next 30 days alone (the future test), the person must notify HMRC before the end of that 30-day period and will be registered from the beginning of that period.
• Where registration liability arises because of a transfer of a going concern, the person must notify HMRC within 30 days of the transfer and will be registered from the date of the transfer itself.
• If a person becomes liable under both the historic test and either the future test or the business transfer rules at the same time, HMRC will register them under the future test or business transfer rules, giving the earlier effective date.