Section 32 Attestation Pathway
The Section 32 Attestation Pathway is a structured declaration process built into CoralLedger Comply that satisfies the formal attestation requirements under Value Added Tax Act, 2014 (as amended by the VAT (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2021), s. 32. Before a VAT return can be submitted, the responsible party must pass through this pathway and confirm — under penalty of law — that the return is accurate and complete.
Value Added Tax Act, 2014 (as amended by the VAT (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2021), s. 32 requires that every VAT return be accompanied by a signed declaration that the information provided is true, correct, and complete to the best of the declarant's knowledge and belief. CoralLedger Comply implements this requirement as a guided digital pathway.
Why Attestation Matters
A VAT return submitted without a valid attestation is treated as incomplete by the Comptroller of Revenue. Consequences of an invalid or absent attestation include:
- Non-compliant filing status — The return may be rejected or flagged
- Personal liability — The declarant is personally accountable for the declaration
- Penalty exposure — False declarations carry criminal and civil penalties under the VAT Act
- Audit risk — Unsigned or improperly attested returns attract increased Comptroller scrutiny
Who Attests — Signatory Capacity
The attestation is completed by exactly one party per submission, identified by their signatory capacity. Comply recognizes four capacities, each backed by an enum value in the platform (SignatoryCapacity):
| Signatory capacity | Variant page | Who this is |
|---|---|---|
RegisteredTaxpayer | Standard Variant | The registered business owner or director, attesting personally |
AuthorisedAgent | Agent Variant | A third-party agent acting on the registrant's behalf with a written authorization |
BicaLicensedPractitioner | Professional Variant | A BICA-licensed accountant attesting under one of the practice-area attestation bodies (Variants A / B / C / combinations — see Professional page) |
AuthorisedEmployee | Digital Variant (coming soon) | An authorized employee submitting with a qualified electronic signature; documented in advance for integrator planning, not yet available in the production platform |
The Qualifying Screen determines which capacity applies based on the filer's role and the business's filing arrangement.
The four variant pages map to the SignatoryCapacity enum. Within the Professional variant, the BICA-licensed practitioner additionally selects one of seven AttestationVariant bodies (Variant A — General VAT Compliance; Variant B — Return Preparation; Variant C — Advisory Services; and the four practice-area combinations A+B, A+C, B+C, A+B+C). See the Professional Variant page for details.
Pathway Structure
The attestation process flows through the following stages:
- Qualifying Screen — Identifies the attestation variant applicable to the filer
- Variant-Specific Declaration — Presents the relevant declaration form based on the qualifier result
- BICA Verification (where applicable) — Confirms professional registration
- Session Affirmation — Confirms the current user's identity and intent mid-session
- Handover (where applicable) — Transfers attestation responsibility between parties
- Submission — Locks the return and records the attested event in the audit trail
Carve-Outs
Certain filings are exempt from the standard attestation pathway. See Carve-Outs for qualifying scenarios.
Audit Trail
Every attestation event — including the variant selected, the declarant identity, timestamp, and session details — is recorded in an immutable audit log. See Attestation Audit Trail for details.