§ Sir J. Edenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have gone out of business because of the refusal of the Inland Revenue to issue a contractors' exemption certificate; how many applications are still awaiting decision or are under appeal; what are the criteria for qualifying for such a certificate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI have no basis on which to make any estimate of the number of people whose businesses have ceased for this reason, as against other possible reasons. There are about 47,000 applications which remain open. It is not known how many of these are under appeal, but about 16,000 are not now being actively pursued, about 9,000 have only recently been made and are currently being examined, and about 22,000 were made some time ago and can be approved as soon as the applicant takes steps to meet the qualifying conditions. The qualifying conditions are set out in Schedule 12 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 1975.