§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the issue of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise press notice No. 886, whether any steps have been taken to inform traders who wish to claim refunds of sheriff officers' or bailiffs' costs recovered from them to apply to the appropriate sheriff officer in Scotland or local value added tax office in other parts of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HayhoeYes. An item drawing traders' attention to the possibility of claiming refunds is included in "VAT Notes" which is being sent with their next return to all traders currently registered for value added tax.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer from how many registered value added tax traders bailiffs' fees and expenses for levying distress to recover unpaid value added tax have been collected since 1 January 1981.
§ Mr. HayhoeNo central record is kept of the number of traders from whom the costs and expenses of levying distress are recovered. However, Customs estimated that since 1 January 1981 costs and expenses will have been recovered on some 17,500 occasions. The number of traders involved will be lower as some traders will have been subject to distress more than once, for different debts since 1 January 1981.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many registered value added tax traders in (a) Scotland, (b) England and Wales and (c) Northern Ireland the power to poind or levy distress for unpaid value added tax was exercised in the period from 1 January 1981 to 13 January 1984.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe numbers are as follows:
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Numbers Scotland 2,000 England and Wales 18,024 Northern Ireland 43 Notes:
1. The information is derived from monthly returns and covers the period 1 January 1981 to 31 January 1984.
2. Customs and Excise do not maintain statistics of the number of poindings by sheriff officers. The figure for Scotland is an estimate derived from the number of warrants issued authorising poinding.
3. The figures refer to the number of levies or poindings. Some traders will have been subject to distress or poinding more than once, but for different debts, during the period covered.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has collected information about which local and national newspapers reported the information supplied to them in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise press notice No. 886 of 24 February.
§ Mr. HayhoeHer Majesty's Customs and Excise press officers monitor the leading national daily and Sunday newspapers and weekly publications. An agency is employed to scrutinise and cut the trade and technical press.
Press notice No. 886 of 24 February was published in the Accountant on 2 March and in Taxation on 3 March. I announced the news contained in the press notice in a written parliamentary reply on 16 January. The reply was published in Taxation on 18 February.
The cost of monitoring every newspaper and publication would be extremely high and it could be determined only at disproportionate cost where else the information may have been published.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to which local and national newspapers Her Majesty's Customs and Excise press notice No. 886 of 24 February was sent.
§ Mr. HayhoePress notice No. 886 of 24 February was distributed on that day by the Central Office of Information news distribution service. Two hundred and twenty copies went to the leading national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, TV, radio, news agencies, leading provincial newspapers and national weeklies and the principal offices of the overseas press. The same day the COI distributed another 130 copies to financial and City editors and 15 copies to Scottish newspapers. In addition Her Majesty's Customs and Excise sent by first-class post 70 copies to the accountancy and legal press, 20 copies to chambers of commerce and 70 copies to journalists specialising in VAT and taxation matters. The total distribution to all these sources was 525.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions expenses were recovered for levying distress or poinding for unpaid value added tax debts, in circumstances where the debtor-trader had gone into liquidation, receivership, sequestration or bankruptcy.
§ Mr. HayhoeIf Customs and Excise or the sheriff officer is aware that the trader has gone into liquidation, receivership, sequestration or bankruptcy, Customs and Excise would not levy distress and a sheriff officer would not poind.
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§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer from how many registered value added tax traders sheriff officers' fees and expenses for poinding for unpaid value added tax have been collected since 1 January 1981.
§ Mr. HayhoeCustoms and Excise does not maintain records of the number of traders from whom sheriff officers' fees and expenses have been collected. However, it is estimated that since 1 January 1981 fees and expenses will have been recovered on about 2,000 occasions. The number of traders involved will be lower as some traders will have been subject to poinding more than once, for different debts, since 1 January 1981.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many traders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have applied to their local value added tax office to have claims considered for refund of costs recovered from them, in respect of bailiffs' fees and expenses incurred in levying distress of unpaid value added tax.
§ Mr. HayhoeBy 3 April 1984, eight claims from traders had been received, via local VAT offices in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in Customs and Excise headquarters.
§ Mr. Wallaceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many traders have applied to sheriff officers for consideration of claims for refunds of sums recovered from them in respect of sheriff officers' fees and expenses incurred in poinding to recover unpaid value added tax.
§ Mr. HayhoeBy 3 April 1984, 17 claims from traders had been received in Customs and Excise headquarters via sheriff officers or Scottish VAT offices.