While much of the news has been on the economic and political consequences of the VAT rate increase, I think we need to have a discussion on the administrative consequences for VAT registered vendors.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but administering this VAT rate increase is not going to be simple.

Accounting software companies wasted no time getting messages out on how to change the VAT rate for a VAT code. I envy anyone who is going to get through this that easily.

Nooooo. I'm going to have to introduce a new VAT code series. And my staff are going to have to be disciplined enough to use the 14% VAT code up to 31 March 2018, and the 15% VAT code from 1st April 2018 onward.

Even the effective date is not entirely simple. We generate our monthly contract invoices 14 days in advance of their effective date. I also have one supplier who has a habit of invoicing a month in advance of our actual liability to them. Their invoice dated 1 March is actually for April's liability. Personally I'm not going to take any chances - for the invoices we generate dated 1st April the rate is going to be 15%, but I've got a sneaking suspicion I'm going to get a few clients arguing it should be 14%.

Not that there's anything in it for them if they're going to be claiming the input VAT as a VAT vendor themselves, mind you.

Credit notes for goods returned is also going to be fun. If the original invoice for supply is in March, but the credit note for a return is processed in April, how is the VAT supposed to be handled?

And what happens with settlement discounts? I have suppliers where we get a 2.5% settlement discount that is processed when we pay at 30 days, and the settlement is VAT inclusive (per the relevant VAT note which I'm not going to try to look up right now). So when I'm paying the March bill at the end of April, what is the correct VAT rate for that settlement discount?

My final one for now - If you're on a two month VAT cycle on even months, what is the April 2018 VAT return going to look like? Will we have to enter the March figures separately from the April figures?