Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the withdrawal of the VAT Retail Export Scheme; and if they have any plans to reintroduce the scheme.

The Government’s assessment of the anticipated impact of the withdrawal of the VAT Retail Export Scheme (VAT RES) was set out in the original policy costing note which can be found in the Policy costings document from November 2020 p42-43.

Government analysis conducted in 2022 found that introducing a worldwide scheme could come at a fiscal cost of around £2 billion each year. This figure consists of the cost from EU and non-EU visitors and is calculated based on methodology signed off and certified by the OBR in 2020.

Whilst there are no current plans to re-introduce VAT RES, this Government keeps all tax policy under review, and we are very grateful to industry for their contribution to our invitation to provide evidence on this matter.