Written question asked by Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 20 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 22 April 2026. It was answered by Dan Tomlinson (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 April 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

VAT: Repayments

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the processing of VAT repayments to businesses.

Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 1.4 million VAT repayment returns, with around 93% paid promptly, within 5 days. As part of its responsibilities for the collection and management of the VAT system, HMRC will select cases where necessary to undertake further enquiries to verify that the repayment is due and correct. These checks are treated as a high priority, and HMRC seeks to resolve any checks as quickly as possible while minimising involvement or inconvenience for businesses.

Secondary information