HMRC has deferred by one year the deadline for businesses reporting under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT
Businesses will now be able to continue using their current ad hoc systems based on in-house Excel exports until the new tax year on 1 April 2021.
The original MTD for VAT guidance defined a digital link as an electronic or digital transfer, or exchange of data, between software programs, products or applications.
It specifically excluded the use of ‘cut and paste’ or ‘copy and paste’ as a way of transferring information, with the exception of during the first year of operation when having digital links was not made mandatory.
HMRC offered a soft landing period when businesses could make a manual transfer. This was set to end on either 1 April 2020 or 1 October 2020 depending on when the business first registered for MTD for VAT.
Now in light of the covid-19 pandemic, HMRC has extended the soft landing period.