(2) The Commissioners of Inland Revenue may as a condition of granting an application under this Section require the applicant to give such security for the due payment of the instalments as they think fit, and may at their discretion at any time revoke any authorisation granted under this Section.

(4) Simple interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, without deduction for Income Tax, shall be chargeable on Excess Profits Duty as from the date on which the duty becomes payable, or in the case of duty which became payable on or before the first day of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-two, as from that date.

Any such interest shall be payable in money and shall be recoverable as a debt due to His Majesty from the person by whom the duty in respect of which the interest is charged is payable.

(8) For the purposes of this Section, Exeese Profits Duty shall be deemed to become payable on the expiration of two months from the date on which the assessment to duty is made.

I beg to move, at the end of Sub-section (2), to add the words but in any case in which such security as aforesaid has been given, only after three months' notice has been given by the Commissioners of their intention to revoke the authorisation. This Amendment is designed to meet a point which was raised in the Committee stage of the Bill. It was suggested that the power to revoke should be withdrawn. I recognised the force of some of the cases that were brought forward, and, in the end, I took the view that it would be quite proper that notice should be given of revocation in particular cases where the security had been asked for by the Inland Revenue Department and had been given.

Amendment agreed to.

I beg to move, in Subsection (4), to leave out the word "five" and to insert instead thereof the words "four and a half."

This Amendment is carrying out a pledge which I gave in Committee to reduce the interest upon the unpaid instalments of Excess Profits Duty from 5 per cent. to 4½ per cent.

Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman can give the House some information as to the amount of arrears of Excess Profits Duty covered by this Amendment. I take no exception to the Amendment, but the Revenue returns for the last quarter show that the net yield of Excess Profits Duty is very small, about £1,000,000. I am anxious to find out how much money the State has had to repay during the last quarter or the last six months to those who have paid Excess Profits Duty in the past. It may be that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has not any such figures by him, and if so I will not press for an answer.

In any case, it does not arise.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: In Subsection (8), leave out the word "two"["expiration of two months"], and insert instead thereof the word"three."—[Sir R. Home.]