VAT Registration (Hansard, 3 April 2002)

§ Mr. Jim Murphy
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what his estimate is of the annual lost revenue due to the illegal use of UK VAT registration numbers; [46112]
(2) what his estimate is of the number of illegally obtained VAT registration numbers in each of the last three years. [46113]

§ Mr. Boateng
No such estimates exist.

§ Mr. Jim Murphy
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he is giving to the tightening of VAT registration procedures for VAT numbers. [46114]

§ Mr. Boateng
Customs selectively apply extended checks aimed at identifying fraudulent applications, including making visits before registration is granted and applying conditions to the registration, where appropriate. Cases are monitored on an individual basis to ensure a balanced approach between facilitating business and protecting the revenue.
In addition, Customs are working to automate their validation, verification and risk scoring system by September 2002.