§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how Her Majesty's Customs and Excise calculates the risk of businesses not complying with VAT for the purpose of determining which businesses should receive an assurance visit. [29910]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 17 May 1996]: Customs use statistical methods to evaluate information on businesses and their likelihood to make errors. This provides the relative ranking of each business which is advised to local offices. Staff use this ranking together with local knowledge for the purpose of determining which business should receive an assurance visit.
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§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of(a) VAT and (b) excise duties that remained uncollected or written off for each of the last five years; and if he will estimate the amount that will be uncollected or written off for the next two years for the same categories. [29911]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 17 May 1996]: Write-off figures for 1995 have not yet been finalised. The value of VAT remitted or written off in the previous five calendar years was as follows:
- 1994: £550,464,000
- 1993: £742,376,00
- 1992: £745,773,000
- 1991: £515,335,000
- 1990: £212,715,000.
Excise write-off figures are consolidated with Customs figures. The value of Customs and other duties written off in the same five years was as follows:
- 1994: £1,713,000
- 1993: £2,138,000
- 1992: £844,000
- 1991: £733,000
- 1990: £1,020,000.
The level of write-off in the present and future years is dependent on external factors, such as the rate of insolvency. Customs expect that VAT debt will be contained within 2.3 per cent. of liability for 1995–96 and 1996–97.