COG941010 | Supporting Guidance: business records checks: at the visit: VAT registered business: VAT registered businesses

All businesses must maintain the basic records to enable them to complete their income tax or corporation tax returns.

However, if a business should be registered for VAT, then it must keep additional statutory records - see CH12300. The most common are:

• a VAT account

• copies of VAT invoices.

Where the customer is VAT registered, you will only consider whether the statutory records are being kept for income tax and corporation tax purposes.

You should not check that the records meet VAT record-keeping requirements. See COG941015 (a VAT account) and COG941020 (a VAT invoice) for further information.

If you are told that the customer has not kept statutory records for VAT, you should consider referring the case to RIS.