Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Lake this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 108 · Treasury
How many BIRDs-authorised traders have had authorisation (a) suspended, (b) withdrawn, (c) reviewed following compliance investigations and (d) referred to HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service since the introduction of that scheme.
Awaiting answer.
What consideration has been given to providing freight forwarders and customs agents with real-time access to the current VAT registration status of importers, so that agents can verify eligibility for Postponed VAT Accounting at the point of submitting a customs declaration.
Awaiting answer.
How many freight forwarders and customs agents have received demands from HMRC for unpaid import VAT or customs duty in respect of declarations submitted on behalf of importers who were subsequently found to be (a) not genuinely established in the United Kingdom, (b) registered for VAT using a fraudulent or virtual address, or (c) dissolved or struck off at the time of the relevant declaration.
Awaiting answer.
What consideration has been given to adding (a) a company registration number field to the HMRC VAT number checker service and (b) a VAT registration number field to the Companies House public register, so that the two identifiers can be cross-referenced by members of the public, online marketplaces, and customs agents.
Awaiting answer.
How HMRC reconciles BIRDs import declaration data with (a) online marketplace order data, (b) VAT returns submitted by sellers and marketplaces and (c) the Customs Declaration Service consignee and importer data for the purpose of identifying VAT evasion.
Awaiting answer.
With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to question 129483, what (a) the declared trade value of goods imported under BIRDs declarations across all procedure codes and both CDS and CHIEF, (b) HMRC's estimate of the VAT that should have been collected on those sales and (c) the VAT remitted to HMRC by sellers and online marketplaces for those imports was in each year between 2022 and 2025.
Awaiting answer.
How many BIRDs declarations submitted in each year between 2022 and 2025 were associated with (a) UK-incorporated companies that had been registered at Companies House for fewer than 24 months at the time of submission and (b) companies that have since been (i) dissolved, (ii) struck off and (iii) filed dormant accounts.
Awaiting answer.
How many addresses in the United Kingdom are currently registered as the VAT address of 100 or more businesses; and what processes HMRC has in place to verify that such addresses represent legitimate serviced office arrangements rather than address fraud.
Awaiting answer.
How many UK VAT registration numbers have been identified as having been used in customs declarations submitted under PVA (Postponed VAT Accounting) after the registration was cancelled, and what steps HMRC took to notify customs agents and freight forwarders when such cancellations occurred.
Awaiting answer.
With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to question 129483, how many (a) individual consignments and parcels were covered by BIRDs declarations under CPC 0020 21V submitted via the Customs Declaration Service and (b) declarations were submitted via the legacy CHIEF system in each year between 2022 and 2025.
Awaiting answer.
What guidance HMRC has issued to freight forwarders and customs agents on the steps they should take to verify the genuine UK establishment status of importers before submitting indirect customs declarations; and whether HMRC has provided any tool enabling agents to make such verification in real time at the point of submission.
Awaiting answer.
Since January 2021, how many applications for UK VAT registration from companies incorporated in the UK within the previous 24 months have been (a) accepted without a compliance check, (b) accepted following a compliance check, (c) refused, and (d) subsequently cancelled within 12 months of registration.
Awaiting answer.
How many non-established taxable persons liable to be registered for VAT under Schedule 1A to the VAT Act 1994 have an overdue VAT bill.
HMRC holds management information on VAT liabilities, but data for non‑established taxable persons is not robust enough to provide reliable estimates of the population with VAT debt or amounts overdue.
What the value is of overdue VAT owed by non-established taxable persons registered for VAT under Schedule 1A to the VAT Act 1994.
HMRC holds management information on VAT liabilities, but data for non‑established taxable persons is not robust enough to provide reliable estimates of the population with VAT debt or amounts overdue.
What estimate she has made of the revenue raised from fuel duty between January and April (a) 2026 and (b) 2025; and if she will consider offering targeted support to the road haulage sector.
Fuel duty receipts total approximately £8 billion for the period January to April 2025. Tax receipt data is available on GOV.UK, where data for April 2026 will be published in due course. Fuel duty is charged as a fixed amount per litre, so receipts depend on the volume of fuel sold, as opposed to pump prices. Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save hauliers 11 pence per litre compared to the plans inherited from the previous government. In addition, in order to support the haulage sector, the Government and industry are jointly providing up to £35.7m of investment to enhance truck stops across England, in addition to joint investment by National Highways and industry of up to a further £30 million.
With reference to the Customs Declaration Service and its Bulk Import Reduced Data Set, how many entries were logged under Customs Procedure Code 0020 21V in each year since 2022.
For the purposes of this answer, “entries” have been interpreted as customs declarations. The table shows the number of customs declarations logged on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) under Customs Procedure Code (CPC) 0020 21V, which is used for the Bulk Import Reduced Data Set (BIRDs).YearNumber of declarations202260,0002023278,0002024368,0002025403,000These figures represent the number of declarations submitted to CDS under CPC 0020 21V only.It should be noted that the figures are not directly comparable across years. In 2022 and 2023 a substantial proportion of BIRDs declarations were submitted via the legacy CHIEF system, under CPCs 4900003 and 4000003, and are therefore not included in the CDS figures shown above. In 2022 around 21% of BIRDs declarations were submitted via CDS, rising to around 75% in 2023.The figures also exclude BIRDs declarations submitted using multiple additional procedure codes and therefore do not represent total BIRDs volumes.Number of customs declarations are rounded to the nearest thousand.You should note that a BIRDs declaration can cover multiple consignments.
What recent estimate her Department has made of the level of loss to public finances of VAT non-compliance by overseas retailers through online marketplaces.
HMRC’s best estimate of VAT losses, for 2021 to 2022, as a result of overseas seller non-compliance occurring through online marketplaces is £150 million per annum as published in the NAO report Tackling tax evasion in high street and online retail - NAO report. This will not include any subsequent compliance activity to recover any losses from OMPs. HMRC can raise assessments to recover unpaid VAT against an OMP should they incorrectly determine the establishment of an overseas seller unless they can demonstrate they have taken all reasonable steps to make that determination, leading to an under declaration of VAT.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of co-locating community banking representatives within post offices.
Banks provide access to in‑person banking services through a range of channels, including branches, banking hubs and post offices. Some banks also provide access to community bankers through pop‑up services in locations such as libraries and community centres, or via mobile banking vans serving rural and remote areas. Community bankers are bank employees who provide face-to-face support to customers in local communities outside a traditional branch, helping with banking queries and access to further support as needed. Decisions about where such services are located are commercial matters for individual banks. The retail banking sector provides everyday banking services at post offices through the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement that enables personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check balances and pay bills at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The Government supports initiatives that help customers access banking services in ways that reflect local needs, alongside digital provision. In January, the Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury convened a roundtable with the Post Office and the banking sector to facilitate discussion on where further collaboration would allow all parties to better meet the needs of people and businesses. The Government supports collaboration between banks and the Post Office, while being clear that this must be achieved on a voluntary and commercial basis.
If she will introduce a time-limited rebate on fuel duty for public transport providers and essential users in the road haulage sector.
The Government is taking action on fuel affordability at the pump. At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. The Government's action on fuel duty will save an average heavy goods vehicle more than £800 in 2026/27 compared to previous plans, and follows an extended period where freezes to fuel duty have resulted in substantial savings for the haulage industry. As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review.
With reference to section 48(1) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994, how many times HMRC exercised the power to direct a non-established taxable person to appoint a UK-based VAT representative in each of the last five financial years.
HMRC does not routinely record the requested information and therefore is unable to provide data on the number of directions made to non‑established taxable persons to appoint a VAT representative.