VATTOS5220 | Actual tax points: VAT invoices: period VAT invoices

Regulations 85, 86 and 90 of the VAT Regulations 1995 (see VATTOS2300) allow for the issue of what are often referred to as period VAT invoices. This avoids the issue of a large volume of repetitive VAT invoices to the same customer. Very often the payments themselves are triggered automatically via a direct debit arrangement. An example is leased equipment subject to monthly rental payments. Instead the supplier can issue a single document showing all the payments due over a period of up to one year. The taxpoint then becomes the earlier of the receipt of the payment or the time when the payment falls due.

It is important to remember that these special arrangements only apply where the invoice contains the required details and covers two or more instalments. They do not extend to invoices issued for single instalments. Nevertheless, you may come across claims that the ‘due date’ tax point can apply to an invoice issued in advance of the date when a single instalment falls due. However, the statutory provisions do not support this interpretation and a tax point is created by the issue of the VAT invoice in the normal way.