Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm which provisions in the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill include the procedure to enable the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) to receive complaints and investigate and monitor compliance regarding an alleged failure to collect the levy on visitors and/or pay it to WRA?
If a holiday accommodation provider falls within the definition of a ‘visitor accommodation provider’ then they must register each premises in Wales at which they provide, or offer to provide, visitor accommodation. The intention is that a provider with multiple premises will be able to list all their premises within one registration application.
With regards to complaints, the mechanism for gathering public intelligence in relation to the national register of visitor accommodation will be part of the future development of the register.
For the purposes of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill, ‘visitor accommodation’ is accommodation as outlined in section 2(1), unless listed in section 2(2). Section 2(3) of the Bill clarifies that where references to ‘short-term basis’ are made in section 2(1), this means accommodation is regarded as being made available on a short-term basis, if it is made available for stays of 31 nights or less.
The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill will amend the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 to give the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) the function to collect and manage the visitor levy. This means the WRA will be able to use the powers afforded to it through that legislation, except where specifically excluded in Schedule 1 of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill.