Fears that the taxman is targeting companies for VAT inspections after they have applied for help through the Business Payment Support Service have been dismissed by HM Revenue & Customs. Concerns had been raised by the UK 200 Group after a number of member firms said their clients had become subject to an inspection after rearranging their tax repayments through the BPSS. Kevin Dickens, UK 200 Group president, said: 'It has come to my attention, from very reliable sources that some businesses that have used this Business Payment Support Service have subsequently been notified of a "random" VAT inspection.' He added that some accountancy firms were becoming wary of advising clients to use the service 'unless it's absolutely necessary'. But a spokesman for HMRC said the inspections were 'purely coincidental', adding that there were a variety of reasons why a company could be targeted. HMRC recently said that some 60,000 businesses had reached agreements to delay tax payments totalling £1bn. Dickens said: 'What seems on the surface to be a government initiative to help businesses may actually be causing them additional anxiety, stress and costs in the resulting inspection visits.'