VAT over the years

Good morning sir this is Inspector Warren from Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise.

These eloquent words were quoted by a smartly-dressed receptionist at a small engineering firm in Bedford that I visited in 1984 to carry out a VAT compliance visit – we called them ‘control visits’ in those days – when she introduced me to the company’s managing director. As a 20-year old recruit to the powerful and enticing world of Customs and Excise – and only 18 months out of school – these words made me feel about ten feet tall. An inspector? Fantastic. I had achieved the same ranking as the legendary TV detective Morse in about five months of my working career. And as further proof of my exalted status I was allowed to park in the directors’ underground car park. My ten-year-old Vauxhall Viva looked as out of place as a...