Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 22515, if he will estimate the amount paid out in supplements following the late payment of VAT returns in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the previous 10 years.
The following table shows HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) estimates of the total amount of Repayment Supplement it has paid on VAT repayments. The estimates draw on management information that is available from 2010-11 onwards.
.
Date |
|
|
| Total VAT repayment supplement |
2015-16 (to 31.12.15) |
|
|
| £9.0m |
2014-15 |
|
|
| £14.2m |
2013-14 |
|
|
| £15.0m |
2012-13 |
|
|
| £10.9m* |
2011-12 |
|
|
| £11.8m* |
2010-11 |
|
|
| £6.7m* |
* In order to provide a more meaningful time series of data, totals for 10-11, 11-12 and 12-13 include estimated amounts from within total payments of £12.1m that relate to accounting periods in these years but were not paid until 2015, following discovery of a systems error.
In 2014-15, HMRC paid Repayment Supplement in 0.3% of all cases.
In the first half of 2015-16, HMRC carried out an extensive review of its repayment process with a view to minimising delays in cases where repayments are not authorised automatically. Following the review, new processes have been introduced and HMRC expects to reduce the incidence of Repayment Supplement as a result.