Exact Globe

Product Update 400: Online VAT returns supported (British legislation)

In the United Kingdom, the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) department implemented online VAT returns in April 2010. The companies with an annual turnover of £100,000 or more (excluding VAT) and companies registered or should have registered for VAT on or after April  1, 2010 (regardless of turnover) are expected to submit their VAT returns online.

In this product update, to better facilitate the submission of VAT returns, users can generate XML files for online VAT returns. Both trial and final VAT XML files will conform to the HMRC requirements. New settings are added to enable users to activate the function to generate XML files for VAT returns. Besides that, during the processing of VAT returns, the XML files can be generated simultaneously with the VAT returns report.

Note: The change is available only in the British legislation and when the SE1000 E-Account is in the license. Users are required to install the Java Home environment. For more information, see How-to: Setting up JAVA_HOME environment.

Company data settings

The VAT online declaration section is added to the Company data settings for the British legislation. The details are tabulated below:

Note: The user name, password, and export directory are mandatory. The following will take place upon saving or exiting Company data settings when the Enable VAT XML setting is enabled:

• If the user name, password, and export directory are not defined, an error message will be displayed.
• If the uniform resource identifier is not defined, a message to advise the user to obtain the required identifier from Exact customer support will be displayed.

Assigning VAT return periods

If you have activated the function to generate XML files for VAT returns, you need to ensure that the VAT return periods are assigned to entries at Finance/VAT/Statistics/VAT overview in the “YYYY-MM” format. For example, “2010-11” is assigned for the return period of November 2010.

Processing VAT returns

• The function for processing VAT returns at Finance/VAT/Statistics/VAT overview and Finance/VAT/Statistics/Value added tax is enhanced to generate XML files when performing trial and final printing of VAT returns. The following is a sample of the final VAT XML:
   
• The generated XML file will be named using the following convention:
  “VAT return_<Return period>.XML”
  The return period must be in the “YYYY-MM” format, for example, “VAT return_2010-11.XML”. An error message will be displayed during VAT processing if the return period does not conform to the format. You can continue processing once the return period is reassigned using the required format. The same file name will be used for the trial and final VAT returns. As such, a new file  will overwrite the old file with the same name.
• The generated XML file will be attached to a document using the Miscellaneous document type. The information in the document cannot be edited while the document itself cannot be deleted. An error message with a message stating that the document is linked to a VAT return will be displayed if you attempt to delete the document. You can view the document at CRM/Entries/Documents or at the tax creditor account mainteannce at Finance/Accounts payable/Maintain.