Monday 16 September 2013

Submitting a written enquiry to HMRC can be a trial...


Our recent experience in trying to make a written submission via e mail to the Written Enquiry Team at Southend demonstrates how difficult it can be sometimes to get your message through.

Firstly, we discovered that the advertised e mail address, enquiries.estn@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk is no longer a recognised address.

Searching for the new system, we discovered it’s now online at the HMRC website (as below) and you need to submit an online form with your enquiry.  It’s definitely HMRC’s preferred route as it says below.  That’s okay, but your submission has to be less than 2,000 characters and you can’t send an attachment.  Not very useful when you are submitting something like a request for a Partial Exemption Special Method, which requires a number of specific paragraphs which HMRC stipulate.  

So be aware, you need to be brief these days, or resort to posting your request. 

For general VAT enquiries

Where possible HMRC strongly recommends that you submit your questions about VAT by secure email using one of the links below rather than by post. HMRC can reply to your enquiry more quickly this way. Only particularly long questions or those with attachments should be sent by post.


If you need to write to HMRC by post, please use the following address:

HM Revenue & Customs
VAT Written Enquiries Team
Alexander House
Victoria Avenue
Southend
Essex
SS99 1BD

For further information please contact our Corporate Tax Director, Sarah Brock: sarah.brock@wardwilliams.co.uk

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