Companies at risk of new VAT fraud scheme

We have been alerted to an HMRC VAT refund fraud alert. This scam has already impacted several VAT-registered companies, with their details being altered on the HMRC portal without their knowledge, VAT repayments being diverted to a third party, and, in some cases, data being stolen from websites and used to complete a paper HMRC form that is easily obtained online.

HMRC are investigating; however, for your company’s protection, we recommend that all VAT-registered companies;

• Have an HMRC user account for VAT.
• Routinely check their HMRC VAT Bank details, at least once a quarter when submitting VAT returns.
• Companies could also write a letter to HMRC on the company letterhead confirming that they have online user access and that HMRC should not accept paper 484 forms for their business.

We want to assure you that many high-profile organisations , including our own, are lobbying HMRC on this issue.

For more information, see the ICAEW article from the ICAEW ‘HMRC warns of VAT bank details fraud’.

If you are unsure whether the communication you received is genuine, please refer to the HMRC website or contact your adviser.