What is a VAT visit from HMRC?
Answered 17 March 2026
What is a VAT Visit from HMRC?
A VAT visit is an inspection carried out by an HMRC VAT officer at your business premises to check that you are accounting for VAT correctly.
HMRC Guidance / Practice
During the visit, the VAT officer will:
- Discuss the various aspects of your business
- Give an indication of the length of the visit
- Examine the records of the business
- Advise you of both overpayments and underpayments
At the end of the visit, the officer will:
- Review the work performed
- Discuss any concerns arising
- Agree what is to be done in the future
If an error is found, the officer will:
- Describe how the adjustment will be made
- Agree the adjustment wherever possible
- Inform you of your right to a review by an uninvolved officer, or to appeal to an independent tribunal
Records typically examined during a visit include:
- Annual accounts
- Business bank statements
- VAT account and related working papers
- Sales and purchase invoices
- Accounting books (e.g. daybooks, cash books)
- Contracts and correspondence relating to sales
- VAT registration certificate and certificate of incorporation (on a first visit)
Visits can be announced or unannounced. HMRC may arrange a visit in advance by letter, but visits can also be unannounced — in which case any subsequent disclosure by the taxpayer is treated as "prompted".
To help the visit go smoothly, HMRC recommends:
- Keeping records and payments up to date
- Providing HMRC with requested information and explanations
- Advising HMRC early of reasons for significant changes in tax declared
- Asking if unsure of any matter — you cannot assume everything is correct simply because no errors are found
Citation sources
that the Relevant Returns were inaccurate and we make that finding. Therefore, we reject Mr Doshi’s submission. 65. Mr Doshi also observed that, on the day of the First Visit, the Company had not filed its VAT return that covered that day. Further, that a comparison exercise between what had been declared in the VAT return covering the day of the First Visit with what the HMRC officers had found on the day of the First Visit to see if they could be reconciled had not been performed. From what wa
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aptop, in his vehicle in Slovakia. Unfortunately the vehicle with all its contents was stolen. Because of the imposition of national lockdowns and prohibition on travel Mr Campbell was unable to return to Slovakia to retrieve the vehicle and although the theft was reported to the DVLA and his insurers, Mr Campbell was unable to report it to the police in Slovakia who required him to attend a police station there in person to do so. 22. However, notwithstanding the coronavirus situation, the VAT
During the visit the VAT officer will: discuss with you the various aspects of your business give an indication of the length of the visit examine the records of the business advise you of overpayments as well as underpayments At the end of the visit the officer will: review the work performed discuss any concerns arising agree what is to be done in the future Where an error is found, the officer will: describe how the adjustment will be made agree the adjustment whenever possible tell you that