Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of instances where online (a) Government and (b) HMRC forms do not recognise valid business VAT numbers.

HMRC is not aware of any significant issues regarding the recognition of VAT numbers in Government or HMRC forms. If an IT issue does cause a VAT number not to be recognised, HMRC works with its IT delivery partners to support impacted customers and resolve the issue as soon as possible.