Readers’ forum: Correct approach to correct VAT charge

I know that charging VAT on a supply that should be zero rated can be corrected only by submitting a VATA 1994 s 80 claim to HMRC – the credit note procedure in SI 1995/2518 reg 38 is available only for a ‘change in consideration which includes an amount of VAT’ and a supply that should be zero rated does not.

The difference is important because the four-year cap applies to s 80 claims but not to reg 38 adjustments. What about a supply that was charged at 20% but should have been reduced rated? There is a change in the consideration – say from £120 to £105 – and it ‘includes an amount of VAT’.

However there is no change in the net value of the supply – only in the VAT. Reg 38 refers to ‘consideration’ not the net value but I...