VAT (Hansard, 4 March 2002)

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what requirements HM Customs and Excise impose on the suppliers of digital certificates for VAT in order for those certificates to be accepted. [38558]

§ Mr. Boateng
The digital certificates must have been issued by a trust service that meets Government guidelines for registration of businesses and individuals. 115W Additionally, the service must be approved by a Government recognised approval body, or the trust service provider must have committed to achieve such approval.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what method of selection he used to determine the organisations accepted by HM Customs and Excise as suppliers of digital certificates for VAT. [38559]

§ Mr. Boateng
The Government welcome digital certificates as evidence of identity issued by any trust services that meet Government guidelines for identification of individuals and businesses, provided:

(a) that the service has been approved by a recognised approval body, or that there is a commitment to gain such approval;

(b) that the technical interface between the Government Gateway and the trust service provider can be established;

(c) that the Certificate Policy and contractual issues allow the Government to rely upon the certificates.
The Government have been, and continue to be, in discussion with a number of potential suppliers to increase the availability of digital certificate services.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases in the year to the end of August 2001 HM Customs and Excise carried out pre-VAT registration visits to traders. [38593]

§ Mr. Boateng
As part of their strategy to tackle VAT missing trader fraud, Customs carried out 4,498 pre-VAT registration visits between September 2000 and August 2001.
Customs do not maintain data on pre-registration visits conducted for other reasons and it would involve disproportionate cost to produce.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the providers of digital certificates for VAT pay fees and other payments to the Government. [38557]

§ Mr. Boateng
No.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the Government's policy to seek amendments to European VAT directives to allow HM Customs and Excise to refuse applications from traders to register for VAT in cases where they have continuing concerns about possible fraud. [38594]

§ Mr. Boateng
Tackling VAT missing trader fraud is a Customs VAT fraud priority. In "Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud", published at the pre-Budget report, the outline of customs strategy to tackle the fraud was set out. It includes a commitment to evaluate new legal and system options for tackling this fraud.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which organisations have been selected by HM Customs and Excise as providers of digital certificates for VAT; [38560]
(2) if he plans to allow companies to submit on-line VAT returns directly to HM Customs and Excise without having to obtain a digital certificate from an outside supplier. [38561]

§ Mr. Boateng
HM Customs and Excise are currently reviewing their policy in relation to the use of digital certificates in providing a secure method of submitting116W VAT returns electronically. The review aims to achieve the optimum balance between ease of use while maintaining the necessary level of security. The review will take into account any latest advice from the Office of the e-Envoy on Government policy in this area.
Customs currently allows any digital certificate approved by the Office of the e-Envoy to be used with the electronic VAT return. Two organisations have approved products: Equifax and the British Chambers of Commerce.