PandoratechCompliance
Five VAT return mistakes that trigger FTA questions
Most VAT problems are not fraud or ignorance. They are classification decisions made once, in a hurry, that then repeat automatically for three years.
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Reverse charge handled by memory
Imported goods and services carry reverse charge, meaning you account for both the input and the output side. When this is done manually each quarter it gets missed on the invoices that arrive late. Configured as a tax position, the entry posts both sides automatically and appears correctly in the return without anyone remembering.
Designated zones treated as ordinary supplies
Supplies into and out of designated zones do not always follow the standard treatment, and the correct answer depends on what is being supplied and where it physically moves. Applying 5% to everything is simpler and produces an overpayment; applying zero to everything produces an assessment. The treatment has to be set per transaction type.
Returns that do not tie to the ledger
If the VAT return is assembled in a spreadsheet, there is no audit trail from the figure filed back to the transactions behind it. When the FTA asks, the reconstruction takes days. A return generated from the ledger, with an audit file produced from the same data, turns that request into an export.