| The percentage of Time to
Pay requests refused by HM Revenue &
Customs (HMRC) in 2010 was more than
double the rate in 2009, according to new
statistics. Figures from HMRC show that
the percentage of requests refused in 2009
stood at 2.7 per cent. In 2010, the
refusal rate had risen to 5.8 per cent.
Time to Pay (TTP) was launched as part
of HMRC’s Business Payment Support Service
(BPSS) in November 2008 to help businesses
and individuals seeking extra time to pay
tax they owed. Since its launch, a total
of 16,100 Time to Pay arrangements, worth
£890 million, have been refused.
Despite speculation that HMRC has
toughened its criteria for making Time to
Pay arrangements, its website says: “There
are no plans to close the BPSS or change
HMRC’s TTP policy or approach.”
HMRC also says that requests that are
initially refused may, after a period of
time, be revised and resubmitted and an
arrangement granted.
The new figures also revealed that
since the launch of BPSS, 395,400
arrangements have been agreed, worth £6.83
billion. Of these, 46 per cent involved
VAT, which also accounted for 50 per cent
of the value of arrangements.
Other figures in HMRC’s latest BPSS
statistical release, published on 28
January, showed that since the launch of
the scheme:
- 61 per cent of arrangements were for
three months or less
- 61 per cent of arrangements involved
sums under £10,000, or 15 per cent of
the total value of arrangements
- Demand in 2010 was 60 per cent of
the 2009 level for the number of
requests and 58 per cent for the value
- £5.87 billion has been paid to HMRC
from mature arrangements.
LINK:
Business Payment Support Service |
