Channel needs a modern-day Han Solo

The House of Lords has emerged as an unlikely hero in the ongoing Extended Verification debate

When Han Solo unexpectedly arrives to save Luke Skywalker at the end of the first Star Wars film, you could almost hear the restrains coming from the UK audience as they held themselves back from clapping in a very un-British way. Saving the day is, after all, what all classic good versus bad stories are made of.

When the House of Lords recently produced a report that not only criticised HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Extended Verification strategy but condemned the entire debacle, I was reminded of Han Solo flying in on The Millennium Falcon. The report branded the Extended Verification strategy as an ‘inefficient and unsustainable’ use of resources and one that imposes a ‘significant burden’ on smaller firms. Harsh words indeed.

Extended Verification was originally touted as a temporary solution before the Reverse Charge strategy came into play. However, although Reverse Charge was officially launched last week, HMRC has since moved the ever-changing goalposts and said it will now run both schemes concurrently. The Lords also slammed the Reverse Charge strategy, calling it a temporary solution, and it made the point that it could cause Carousel or missing trader fraud to mutate into other sectors.

The Lords has recommended that HMRC and the government re-examine the overall VAT process along with other European Union member states. A fair point indeed, if a little late.

But many in the sector have questioned whether this not just a case of shutting the door, after HMRC has bolted. Before wasting its time and effort implementing such draconian strategy at Extended Verification, would the government not have been better to scrutinise the whole VAT process in the first place, speak to UK plc and get it right first time, rather than alienating almost an entire industry with a half-cocked, half-baked and half-way idea?

Whether the House of Lords turns out to be the modern-day Han Solo remains to be seen, but to have Harrison Ford at your side could never be a bad thing after all.

Sara Driscoll is editor of CRN.