§ Dame Irene Wardasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the light of the Report of the Expenditure Committee on Urban Transport which regards taxis as public transport, why he has not zero rated taxis for the purposes of VAT.
§ Mr. HigginsMy right hon. Friend considered the representations about taxis and VAT but decided not to zero rate them. The Government will be giving their reply to all the committee's recommendations as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Ginsburgasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that some trades registered for value added tax under retailer scheme 1 are proposing to add VAT to accounts outstanding in respect of goods or services supplied prior to 31st March and that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Bulletin No. 3 does not appear to cover this practice which could be illegal, if he will make a comprehensive statement.
§ Mr. HigginsThere is no justification for adding VAT to accounts outstanding at 31st March for supplies before that date by traders registered for VAT who intend to use any of the special retail schemes. Any customer faced with an additional charge of this sort should refuse to pay it.
In cases of difficulty a customer will be able to take up the matter with his weights and measures inspector when the Counter-Inflation Bill becomes law. Cus- 58W toms and Excise VAT officers have been instructed to follow up any attempts by retailers to impose VAT charges on outstanding accounts at 31st March 1973 which come to their knowledge.
To remove any misunderstanding, Customs and Excise are issuing an explanation of the correct procedure for calculating gross takings for the purposes of the special retail schemes.
§ Mr. Ginsburgasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements will be made by Customs and Excise to deal with the repayment of any value added tax improperly collected by traders from customers in respect of goods and services provided prior to the 31st March by traders registered under retailer Scheme 1.
§ Mr. HigginsThere is no justification for adding VAT to accounts outstanding at 31st March for supplies made before that date by traders registered for VAT who intend to use any of the special retail schemes.
The remedy is for customers to refuse to pay any VAT added to these outstanding accounts, and to refer the retailer concerned to his local Customs and Excise VAT office if he requires an explanation.
§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the position of firms which have applied for registration, but are not registered on 1st April 1973.
§ Mr. HigginsFirms whose application for registration shows that they are registrable are being advised immediately of their registration number in advance of the issue of a formal certificate of registration. This will enable them to fulfil their obligations under the tax and to claim purchase tax or revenue duty rebate where applicable.