§ Mr. Edward DaveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 4 February 2002,Official Report, column 693W, if he will update his reply to take account of the advice on the Inland Revenue website (at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/workingtogether/tax-net-prov-figs.htm) under the heading, Tax Returns and Provisional Figures Update; and if he will make a statement. [35105]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 14 February 2002]: Based on earlier legal advice and understanding of the law the Inland Revenue's practice was to reject as unsatisfactory any return that contained a provisional or estimated figure that did not have an adequate explanation or indication of when a final figure would be supplied.
Following an appeal against a late filing penalty the Inland Revenue sought fresh legal advice. From 23 October 2001, because of this new advice, the Inland Revenue now accept that a customer has made a return which contains an unexplained estimated or provisional figure and does not indicate when the final figure will be supplied.
A detailed explanation of the new position was published on the Inland Revenue's internet site and in their Tax Bulletin 57 published in January 2002.