PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Revenue and Customs: Contracts (22 January 2021)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how often a supplier termination event takes place at HM Revenue and Customs relating to the prohibition of the use of arrangements involving the use of offshore entities, whereby the main purpose is to achieve a reduction in UK tax of any description.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The information requested could only be made available at disproportionate cost. Due to the high number of contracts awarded by HMRC, it would take a significant amount of HMRC staff resource to obtain the information requested. HMRC records are not held in such a way as to identify contracts that have ended due to a supplier termination event and the reason behind this.

HMRC incorporate standard tax compliance clauses into all of their commercial contracts, requiring the supplier to ensure that it and its subcontractors do not put in place arrangements involving offshore companies designed to achieve a reduction in United Kingdom tax which would otherwise be payable.

Answered by:
Jesse Norman (Conservative)
1 February 2021