VAT: Housing

Grant Shapps
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many claims for VAT refunds for self-build housebuilders have been received in relation to (a) new homes and (b) conversions in each year since 1997; and how many claims were accepted in each such year;

(2) what the total monetary value of VAT refunds for self-build housebuilders has been in relation to (a) new homes and (b) conversions in each year since 1997; and what the total monetary value of accepted claims was in each such year.

Mr. Timms
Until 2003, VAT refund claims from ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) house builders were handled in local VAT offices, with no central record being kept. In 2003, HM Customs and Excise (as it then was) began transferring claims to a central unit for processing. Processing of DIY claims was not fully transferred from local offices to the central unit until April 2004. That unit maintains statistics for all claims handled, which are provided as follows:

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|    |New homes|Conversions|Total received|Total accepted and paid|
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|2004|8,665    |1,254      |9,919         |9,396                  |
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|2005|10,000   |1,474      |11,474        |10,835                 |
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|2006|9,807    |1,291      |11,098        |10,362                 |
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|2007|9,763    |1,106      |10,869        |10,170                 |
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|2008|10,218   |1,115      |11,333        |10,477                 |
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|2009|7,310    |1,076      |8,386         |6,130                  |
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|£   |
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|    |New homes|Conversions|Total received|Total accepted and paid|
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|2004|58,259,072.85|12,585,831.27|70,844,904.12|60,542,311.76|
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|2005|70,639,058.90|16,617,743.21|87,256,802.11|74,438,595.28|
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|2006|74,540,836.64|14,330,105.80|88,870,942.44|73,901,579.76|
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|2007|86,100,693.64|13,446,336.83|99,547,030.47|84,454,747.06|
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|2008|96,492,046.55|13,993,784.52|110,485,831.07|89,002,942.31|
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|2009|68,560,147.20|14,475,558.17|83,035,705.37|54,378,504.99|
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The figures for 2009 cover the part year to 6 October.