Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current delay in HMRC processing new registrations for VAT; and what estimate they have made of the costs of such delays (1) to the businesses and organisations affected, and (2) to the Exchequer.

HMRC aims to reply to 80% of VAT registration applications within 40 working days and are currently meeting that aim. However, for more complex applications or those that require additional checks, for example to identify fraudulent applications, this may take longer.

HMRC expects to have significantly reduced the already small proportion of cases that are older than 40 working days by the end of 2022.

HMRC has made no estimate of the cost to business or to the Exchequer of delays in VAT registration processing.