Submit VAT Return
After generating your VAT return, submit it to the Department of Inland Revenue.
Submitting a VAT return is a legal attestation under VAT Act 2014 §32 that the return is true and correct in your authorised capacity.
- Customer-facing overview: coralledger.com/section-32-pathway
- Operator documentation: Section 32 Attestation Pathway — qualifying screen, signatory variants (Standard / Agent / Professional / Digital), BICA verification, session affirmation, handover, carve-outs, audit trail.
Submission Methods
Online Portal (OTAS)
The Department of Inland Revenue accepts online submissions through OTAS (Online Tax Administration System), the DIR's official online portal:
- In CoralLedger Comply, open the finalised return and click Export
- Download the DIR-accepted format file generated by Comply
- Log into OTAS
- Navigate to VAT Returns and upload the exported file
- Submit and save the confirmation
In Person
You may also submit at DIR offices in Nassau or Freeport.
What You'll Need
From CoralLedger Comply, export the finalised return before submitting. The DIR-format export includes all required figures:
- Total taxable supplies (by rate)
- Output VAT collected
- Input VAT claimed
- Net VAT payable/refundable
Payment
If you have VAT payable:
- Online - Pay through the DIR portal
- Bank Transfer - To the Comptroller's account
- Cheque - At DIR offices
After you pay, return to Comply and record the payment so the return can advance from Lodged to Lodged & Paid.
Returns filed after the deadline (21 days for standard taxpayers; 14 days for large taxpayers with annual turnover ≥ $5M) may incur penalties and interest.
Record Keeping
After submission, store:
- Your CoralLedger Comply generated return (PDF)
- DIR submission confirmation
- Payment receipt (if applicable)
CoralLedger Comply maintains all your return history for the required 7-year retention period.
Filing Status
Comply tracks every return through an eight-state lifecycle. The states most relevant to submission are:
- Awaiting Lodgement — artifacts have been generated; you now submit externally to the DIR.
- Lodged — you have recorded the DIR lodgement in Comply via Record DIR Acknowledgement.
- Lodged & Paid — final state once payment is recorded (or automatically for credit/zero returns).
See the canonical state machine table on the VAT Returns Overview page.
Amendments
If you need to correct a previously-lodged return:
- Navigate to the lodged return on the VAT Returns page.
- Click Amend. The amendment is created in the Amendment Draft state — distinct from the original return, which remains in its existing Lodged / Lodged & Paid state for audit history.
- Make corrections to the affected line items.
- Submit the amendment through the same approval and submission workflow as a fresh return — Section 61 acknowledgement, signatory capture, artifact generation, and Record DIR Acknowledgement.
- When the amendment is lodged it follows the same lifecycle and ends at Lodged (or Lodged & Paid once paid).
There is no separate "Amended" final state — both the original return and its amendment are durable lifecycle records visible in the audit trail.
By Statute References
Next Steps
- Filing Wizard — the in-app capture before external submission
- Record DIR Acknowledgement — what you do in Comply after DIR confirms receipt
- Monitor your compliance score
- View filing history
- Cash flow report