Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate VAT on the energy used whilst charging electric vehicles batteries at public electric charge points to the level of VAT on energy used at domestic household vehicle charging points, as part of the fiscal forecast to be published on 23 March 2022.

The Government has no plans to review the VAT treatment of electric vehicle charging.

In order to keep costs down for families, all domestic fuel and power, including the supply of electricity for domestic use, attracts the reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent. Therefore, the reduced rate also applies to charging electric vehicles at home. However, electricity supplied at electric vehicle charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT at 20 per cent.

Expanding the existing relief would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps to fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.