§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the differences in the statistics on value added tax registrations and de-registrations published by HM Customs and Excise in its value-added tax bulletin for September, dated 20 October and by the Department of Trade and Industry in its Statistical News Release 03/111, dated 21 October. [137659]
§ John Healey[holding answer 10 November 2003]: The data published by the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service is taken from the Inter-Departmental Business Register and not directly from HM Customs and Excise.
Customs and Excise receive their data directly from traders' requests to register and deregister. These figures are published in the VAT Bulletin.
174WThe same data is passed to the Office for National Statistics who modify it to their own standards and definitions before incorporating into their Inter-Departmental Business Register. These adjustments exclude companies with a zero turnover and amalgamate separately-registered businesses which are part of a single 'enterprise'.