Foreign companies selling goods through websites such as Amazon and eBay are said to be evading tax on up to a third of all sales

The tax authorities accused Amazon yesterday of failing to co-operate fully in tackling a multibillion-pound fraud that is putting scores of small British companies out of business.

Figures from HM Revenue & Customs suggest that foreign companies selling goods through websites such as Amazon and eBay are evading tax on up to a third of all sales. Meanwhile, the online giants make millions of pounds in commission.

Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) was told yesterday that, more than five years after concerns were raised, Amazon was not providing “complete transparency” on the foreign retailers that were using its site. Privately HMRC believes that the US online marketplace is being obstructive in providing data that could help it to crack down on the fraud, which is