Written question asked by Barry Sheerman (Labour) on Friday, 3 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 November 2006. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Treasury.

VAT

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has received of major retailers avoiding VAT by marketing (a) health food and (b) contact lenses via websites based in the Channel Islands.

Answer: The largest volume of products imported free of VAT from the Channel Islands are CDs and DVDs as well as the traditional products of cut flowers and plants. There is a much smaller proportion of health food products and contact lenses. The majority of internet purchases are imported via Royal Mail where there is no requirement to capture or retain details of individual consignments. There is consequently no reliable information about which firms are engaged in marketing these products.

Secondary information