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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I am slightly reassured by the Minister’s remarks. It would be preferable for HMRC to deal with the problem through concession and, historically, that would be the most appropriate course. However, that might not be possible formally because of the House of Lords decision in the Wilkinson case of 2005, which cast doubt on the extent of HMRC’s discretionary powers not to apply the strict letter of the law in appropriate circumstances. Without HMRC being able to put its policy into effect with a public pronouncement about the position of clubs and societies, it will nevertheless have to deal with their inquiries. With its ability to deal with those concessions in doubt, I thought that the best way to bring the matter to the Committee’s attention was through my amendment. I shall not seek to divide the Committee on this occasion, but I would ask the Minister to look into ways of ensuring that small societies are not adversely affected by the extra administrative burden that the reintroduction of the zero rate will impose. In conclusion, I request that the Government consult urgently the small clubs and societies affected by the amendment and ensure that they are properly informed of their responsibilities. I also request that the Government undertake to tackle the problem of concessions, as exposed by the Wilkinson case. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.