HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is advising business owners who have set up their own pension schemes to check who their scheme administrator is.

Where schemes have been set up using an insurance company, bank or other provider, companies may find they retain the role of legal administrator themselves.

The scheme administrator may find that they remain legally responsible for making the Accounting for Tax Return, the Event Report and the Pension Schemes Return to HMRC, operating tax relief on contributions and paying tax charges as they arise.

The scheme administrator will also be liable for penalties and also liable to a tax charge if the pension scheme makes an unauthorised payment.

Please refer to the HMRC fact sheet for further information www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/scheme-administrator-facts.pdf.

VAT Invoices

With VAT fraud on the increase, a number of perfectly legal businesses have been caught out by claiming back VAT on invoices received from suppliers who had charged VAT but were not actually VAT registered. If this is found on a VAT visit, a VAT inspector will accept that the claim was made in good faith if (and only if) the invoice itself complied with all regulations about content that should appear on such an invoice:

This includes:

• An identifying number;

• Your name, address and VAT registration number;

• Time of supply;

• Date of issue (if different from time of supply);

• Your customer’s name (or trading name) and address;

• Type of supply (e.g. sale or rental); and

• A description identifying the goods or services you are supplying.

Each description of goods/services must show:

• The quantity of goods or extent of the services

• Charge made, excluding VAT;

• Rate of VAT;

• Total charge made, excluding VAT;

• Each rate of VAT charged with the amount charged at each rate and shown in sterling;

• Rate of any cash discount offered;

• Total amount of VAT charged shown in sterling.

For any further information on VAT invoices please get in contact with your client manager.

At the end of April you should have received all the relevant information needed to complete your 2007 Tax return.

The tax return deadline is 31st January 2008, but by completing your 2007 Tax Return as soon as possible before this date we are able to provide you with advance notice of your tax liabilities.

Should you have any queries on what information is required then please contact either Janice Offer or Sarah Reynolds from our tax department.