According to Revenue & Customs Brief 38/08, the current practice of not charging default interest on net errors of £2,000 or less separately notified to HMRC, has been withdrawn with effect from 1 September 2008.

Following the decision in Wilkinson v Commissioners of Inland Revenue, this practice is not considered lawful.

HMRC have announced that from 1 September 2008 error notifications (previously known as voluntary disclosures) requiring an assessment may be subject to a default interest charge, irrespective of the amount involved. However as before, de minimis net errors can continue to be corrected on a VAT return and will not attract interest.

HMRC's Brief can be accessed at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/vat/brief3808.htm.