It can now take over three months and up to five months to get a VAT registration number from HMRC as they seem unable to apply any form of risk management or triage to the registration process. You have small "rinky dinky" companies being asked to provide business plans and marketing material, and they can be still turned down for registration for not supplying more information; none of which is asked for at the registration stage.

Right now this situation would seem to be permanent. I have two new companies registering for VAT. Company A applied for registration on the 6th June and is still not registered. I received a letter to Company B this morning advising me that it may take another 12 weeks. Company B is registering on a voluntary basis with monthly turnover not expected to exceed £6,000.

However, what I find most disconcerting about this process is HMRC stating on their website:

"Although you cannot charge VAT before you are registered or show VAT as a separate item on any invoices you issue, you can change your prices to include VAT. You can do this from the date you should be registered and before you receive your Certificate of Registration. You will need to explain to your customers that you will be sending them VAT invoices later."

I can change my price to include VAT but can't show it on the invoice, so my customer is unable to reclaim any of this VAT until I later provide him with a VAT invoice. As a customer I would assume my supplier is pulling a fast one, I will never get an invoice. I would certainly not pay over the full amount, and then we are in the wonderful accounting  world of part payments, later followed by credit notes and re-issued invoices.

As a customer, unless I am buying from a personal service company, I wouldn't buy stock from a company which is not registered for VAT, as I wouldn't believe in the substance of it.

Being the sole director of an existing company which is VAT registered and always pays its VAT on time means nothing to HMRC if you wish to start another company. They will approach your application as though your intent is to fraudulently register for VAT. The fact you might be a home owner in the UK, be the member of a professional body, have previously worked in government, pay your VAT on time are not considered as no risk assessment is applied. Is this the best use of tax payers money? Surely there is something fundamentally wrong with the registration process.