A written question asked about the length of time it took HMRC to process income tax refunds.
Stephen Timms, the financial secretary to the Treasury, replied that 99.3% of R40 repayment claims in 2008-09 were processed within 15 working days of receipt against a target of 97%.
Figures for the maximum time taken were ‘not available’.
Refunds of online self assessment returns were normally made within seven days. Paper returns were marked ‘repayment’ and given priority.
A sample of these repayments for October 2008 to April 2009 showed that 90% were made within 30 days.