§ 33. Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied that there are no anomalies in the application of value added tax to the building industry.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe provision of reliefs from VAT for a wide range of building industry supplies has required borderlines to be drawn and I am afraid that, inevitably, these have given rise to situations which are arguably anomalous. In his Budget Statement my right hon. and learned Friend announced his intention of giving effect to a clarification of the law provided in a recent House of Lords judgment, which ruled on the scope of the relief for building alteration work. We remain conscious of the need for greater clarity and simplicity in the operation of VAT reliefs in this area. At the moment, however, there is nothing I can add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Howell) on 19 July.—[Vol. 28, c. 156.]