§ 57. Mr. DAYasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases the Commissioners of Inland Revenue have had their notice drawn, during the 12 1914 months ended to the last convenient date, to receipts or vouchers being issued for amounts of £2 or over without a stamp; can he state what action has been taken in these cases; and will he consider the introduction of legislation having as its object making all persons who receive a payment of £2 or over affix a twopenny stamp to the voucher given in acknowledgement?
Mr. SAMUELThe number of cases in which the Commissioners of Inland Revenue have been informed of the issue of unstamped receipts for amounts of £2 or more during the 12 months ended on the 31st July last was about 150. In all these cases the offenders provided duly stamped receipts after being warned of the penalty to which they had exposed themselves. The full amount of the penalty is £10, but the Commissioners in the exercise of their statutory powers remit occasionally the whole, but more often a part of the full penalty after considering the circumstances of each case. With regard to the latter part of the question, my right hon. Friend does not propose to alter the law so as to make it compulsory to give a receipt in cases where the payer does not require one. Vouchers of the kind that the hon. Member has in mind are not receipts.
§ Mr. DAYHave any statistics been got out by the hon. Gentleman's Department of the millions of vouchers that are issued in the departmental stores in the nature of receipts?
Mr. SAMUELIf there are rulings of law on the point, and if the hon. Gentleman will put down a question, I will be glad to find out for him.