Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in HMRC work on tackling VAT fraud.

There are currently around 24,000 people working in HMRC tackling all forms of non-compliance in the tax system, ranging from individuals operating in the hidden economy, through to detailed investigation of offshore structures and scrutinising the tax affairs of the largest multi-national companies.

This flexible resource gives HMRC the capability to effectively tackle the compliance risks of the evolving changing landscape. HMRC officers are a flexible resource and may work on a number of cases involving several different customer groups’ behaviours and risks at any one time to meet individual business needs, and so it is not possible to say how many staff work solely on VAT fraud.