Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports that Chinese companies have registered more than 30,000 companies at UK addresses where the registered owners have no connection to the business concerned.

DBT and Companies House are moving at pace to implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2024, a principal purpose of which is to strengthen the powers of the Registrar of Companies to bear down on the abuse of corporate structures in the UK. Enhanced intelligence sharing between public authorities is a key element in that.

HMRC is aware of the risk of overseas sellers misrepresenting their true establishment to an online marketplace so that the online marketplace will not charge VAT, and continues to keep the policy under review. Rules introduced in January 2021 make Online Marketplaces responsible for VAT on goods sold by overseas businesses on their platforms.