§ Mr. Ashdownasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest figures available for the total amount of value added tax collected from each trade group together with the total numbers registered in each group; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeThe total number registered in each trade group are as follows:
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Trade Group Number registered (as at 31 March 1985) Primary Industries Agriculture, forestry and fishing 181,600 Mining and quarrying 1,400 Manufacturing Industries Food, drink and tobacco 9,700 Coal and petroleum products 200 Chemicals and allied industries 3,600 Metal manufacture 2,700 Mechanical engineering 24,400 Instrument engineering 3,100 Electrical engineering 9,900 Shipbuilding, boatbuilding and marine engineering 2,000 Vehicles 1,400 Metal goods n.e.s. 16,000 Textiles 6,000 Leather, leather goods and fur 1,800 Clothing and footwear 11,200 Bricks, ceramics, glass, cement etc. 2,600 Timber, furniture etc. 11,500 Paper, printing and publishing 22,700 Other manufacturing industries 13,900 Construction Construction 230,000 Utilities Gas, electricity and water 200 Transport and Communication Transport and communication 62,500 Distributive Trades Wholesale distribution 80,800 Retail distribution 265,900 Dealers 31,000 Services Insurance, banking, finance and business services 78,000 Professional and scientific services 87,000 Miscellaneous 296,600 Public administration and defence 1,200 1,458,900 I regret that up-to-date information on the tax collected from each trade group cannot be provided. This is a consequence of changes to the accounting procedure for tax due on imported goods which were introduced on 1 November 1984. Until then, any VAT due on imports by registered persons was declared separately on the VAT return with an offsetting input tax claim. Since 1 November, VAT paid on imports is no longer entered on returns. It is, however, still claimed as a deduction, along with other deductible input tax, but is not separately identified. Consequently, any comparisons of trade groups based on the net tax shown on returns would now be seriously distorted.
The latest figures available that break down net tax by trade group are those for 1983–84; they are contained in table 9 on page 40 of the report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for the year ending 31 March 1984. There is a copy in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Tim Smithasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest available statistics for the total number of prosecutions brought by Customs and Excise in respect of the new procedures for value added tax passed in the Finance Act 1985; and if he will estimate the total value of penalties levied as a consequence of these prosecutions.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Finance Act 1985 introduced provisions to remove the sancton of criminal prosecution for many VAT offences and to replace it by a system of civil penalties. For those provisions which were implemented as from Royal Assent to the Finance Act 1985 there have, therefore, been no subsequent prosecutions. The number of civil penalties imposed up to 24 April 1986 is 2,666 and their total value about £1,316,000. Of these, 2,625 penalties were for belated notification of liability to be registered for VAT under section 15 of the Act. This represents less than 2 per cent. of the total number of new registrations (about 138,000) in the same period.
§ Mr. Tim Smithasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if any extra Customs and Excise staff have been deployed to investigation work as a result of the implementation of the Keith committee proposals for value added tax; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will give the number of businesses registered for value added tax at the latest convenient dates within the following turnover bands: £0, £1-£19,500, £19,500-£49,500, £50,000-£99,000, £100,000-£499,000, £500,000-£1,999,000 and £2,000,000-plus; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeI shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.