Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 14 September (HL7716), whether they will now answer the question put, namely (1) what was the cost to the Exchequer of misuse of Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) over the entire period that misuse took place, and (2) what was the number of retailers who did pay VAT and went out of business as a result of the misuse of LVCR by others.

The Government does not have an estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the misuse of Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR). There is also no estimate of the number of compliant retailers that went out of business because of the misuse of LVCR by others.

The figure of £90 million additional yield for 2012/13 resulting from the removal of LVCR given in the previous answer is an indication of the extent of the misuse in the Channel Islands. The total yield for this measure over the period 2012/13–2016/17 was £500 million.