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Motorcycles: Excise Duties and VAT

Asked by Sammy WilsonDemocratic Unionist PartyTreasuryTabled Answered 17 October 2025UIN 78061

The question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) VAT and (b) customs duty lost as a result of (i) undervaluation and (ii) misclassification of (A) imported off-road motorcycles and (B) related parts in each of the last five years.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson

HMRC estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics and details of the estimate methodologies are published annually and are available at:

Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition: tax gap estimates for 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK

Estimates of the revenues lost from (i) undervaluation and (ii) misclassification of (A) imported off-road motorcycles and (B) related parts in each of the last five years are not available as the methodologies used in assessing the tax gap do not allow estimates to be made at such a granular level.

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