Retailers including Gap, House of Fraser and Selfridges are still selling goods at the same price as before the tax was reduced from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent last year.
The Sunday Times reported that while some retailers never passed on the cut, others have quietly pushed prices back up again.
The cut was introduced by the Government as a way to get shoppers spending and stimulate the struggling economy.
Gap was accused in the newspaper report of putting prices back up despite initially introducing the cut to customers at its tills. Last week, the retailer admitted that it adopted its old prices again in January, but it pledged immediately to reinstate the 2.5 per cent discount.
Other retailers, including Oasis and Ted Baker, were found not to have been offering VAT reductions on Sale items because of a reluctance to “double-discount” goods.
House of Fraser said: “Prices have been realigned for some . . . items, but it is unrealistic with such a large number of lines to do this for every single item.”
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