§ Mr. John Browneasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that the new procedures for collection of value added tax on imports will not be introduced until it has been ascertained that all persons who applied before 31 July for duty deferment approval have been notified of their approval number.
§ Mr. HayhoeAll correctly completed applications that were received by Customs before 31 July have been processed and approval certificates sent to the approved persons. Customs expects that all properly completed applications received before 30 September will likewise be processed and certificates of approval issued in time for traders' use on 1 November.
Customs can give no such assurance for applications which contain errors, but all those received up to 30 September have had action taken to resolve the queries. Corrective action is taken as soon as the queries are resolved so that as many applications as possible will be approved in time for the start date of 1 November.