VAT Repayment suspended

I submitted several VAT returns in early December and some box 5 entries are repayments. I note that the latest entry after several check entries, Estimated repayment date has passed and now Repayment Suspended. What does this mean? Thanks

Submitting "several" VAT returns in December suggests that you have filed more than one return and this would mean all of those returns were filed late. HMRC will always review and verify VAT returns where there is i) a refund due, ii) returns have ben filed late and there are other reasons that are not relevant here. The verification of refund returns can take some time, usually they are reviewed within 30 working days but they can take longer, especially if you have filed several returns at once as all of the returns will need to be verified to ensure that the returns are correct and the the refund is valid. Call the VAT general helpline https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-enquiries and ask if they can confirm the returns are received and if they can confirm the returns have ben allocated to a reviewing officer.

Thank you for the response. Yes the returns were late as the account owner could not run the MTD process since it was launched. The returns are correct though (small amounts), they were just very late. The big issue is the Central assessment VAT amount that is inconsistent with the business operations. They'll have to wait for the HMRC verification process to follow it's course.