HC Deb 17 December 1990 vol 183 cc9-10W
Mr. Lord

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps have been taken to ensure that the criteria applied by Customs and Excise officials in deciding the appropriate value added tax assessment on leaflets are sufficiently clear that traders can comply with value added tax law without the administrative burden of seeking individual rulings from Customs and Excise on each individual case;

(2) what steps are taken to ensure that the criteria used by local value added tax offices in deciding whether value added tax is applicable at the standard rate on leaflets are applied uniformly and do not cause a distortion of trade;

(3) if he will instruct Customs and Excise officials to give a precise definition of paper and card so that traders can have certainty that they are complying with the value added tax law in so far as it applies to leaflets.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

Recent VAT tribunal decisions have affected the definition of leaflets for VAT purposes. This has meant that the guidance set out in the Customs notice "Printed and similar matter" needs to be expanded. A new version of the notice will be available early next year. Meanwhile appropriate guidance has been provided to local VAT officers, who will refer cases of difficulty to Customs headquarters for advice.

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