Glossary
What is VAT return?
A VAT return is the periodic filing in which a registered business reports sales, purchases, output VAT and input VAT, and pays any net tax due. Most registered businesses in Nepal file monthly, by the 25th of the following Nepali month.
A VAT return is the monthly report that settles your VAT position with the Inland Revenue Department. It shows the tax you charged, the tax you can claim back, and the amount you pay or carry forward.
What it reports
- Taxable sales and the output VAT charged on them.
- Zero-rated and exempt sales, reported separately.
- Purchases and the input VAT being claimed.
- Adjustments from credit notes and debit notes in the period.
- The net VAT payable, or the credit carried forward.
The Annex 13 counterparty schedule goes with the return, listing each customer and supplier with their registration number. How the two tax figures net off is explained under output VAT and input VAT.
In Nepal
Under the VAT Act 2052 and VAT Rules 2053, most registered businesses file monthly through the IRD taxpayer portal. The return is due by the 25th of the following Nepali month, and payment is due at the same time. As an illustration, the return for Bhadra is due by 25 Asoj. The deadline follows Bikram Sambat, so a reminder set by the English calendar falls on a different day each month.
A return is due even in a month with no trade. In that month you file a nil return. Some taxpayers may be permitted a different cycle, so confirm your own with the IRD or your accountant rather than assuming it.
Common mistakes
- Skipping a quiet month. Fines apply to the failure to file, not to the size of the trade.
- Claiming input VAT on a supplier bill that is not a valid tax invoice.
- Entering a bill dated at the end of one Nepali month into the next period.
- Wrong registration numbers on customer or supplier records, which surface in the counterparty schedule.
- Reconciling the registers after the deadline instead of in the last week of the month.
The full routine, week by week, is in the guide to filing a VAT return in Nepal.
Kuver Books does not file the return. It produces the sales and purchase registers, the VAT summary by Nepali month and the Annex 13 report the filing is built from, as the reports page shows.
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