- VAT inspections by HMRC can be routine and not necessarily indicate wrongdoing.
- Inspections may be triggered by data anomalies, persistent issues, system flags, connected investigations, third-party information, random selection, industry risk, or business complexity.
- Standard review period for VAT records is 4 years, but can extend to 20 years for deliberate errors or fraud.
- Inspections typically have three stages, starting with a pre-visit notification from HMRC.
Source: deeksvat.co.uk
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.