§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many firms and other organisations failed to submit VAT returns in the last quarter for which figures are available; and how this compares with the position three months, six months, nine months, and 12 months ago.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe number of returns which were due to be submitted during the quarter September to November 1975 and which are still outstanding is 139,000. Comparable figures for three, six, nine and 12 months earlier are 164,000, 165,000, 160,000 and 163,000 respectively.
Where a trader fails to make a return and is judged to have tax to pay he is normally assessed. The above figures include those cases where assessments have been paid without returns being furnished.
The figures for outstanding returns in a quarter are greater than the numbers of traders involved, since some traders were due to make three returns each quarter.