§ Sir John Gilmourasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases have been brought before the VAT Appeals Tribunal in Scotland since it was established; what is the average time taken on each such appeal; and what has therefore been the average cost of each appeal.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonSeventy-two appeals have been lodged with the VAT Appeals Tribunal in Scotland of which 11 have been heard and 55 withdrawn, struck out or sifted after preliminary work. Six are awaiting hearing. Additionally, 91 applications have been heard on subsidiary matters, such as applications for the hearing of an appeal without prior payment of the tax.
The average time taken to hear an appeal has been about four hours. The total cost of the Edinburgh Tribunal Centre for the year 1975–76 was about £30,000, including salaries, pension liabilities and cost of services such as accommodation, stationery and postage. An average cost calculated only on the number of appeals which reached a hearing 782W would obviously give a misleading impression of the cost of an appeal.