Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
HMRC not planning to restore tax prosecutions to pre-pandemic levels, prioritising complex cases.
Conclusion
However, HMRC also told us that it was already reducing numbers of prosecutions before the pandemic, and that is not planning on restoring the number of prosecutions to pre-pandemic levels, even with the backlog. Before the pandemic, the number of prosecutions had reduced from around 900 in 2017–18 to around 700 in each of 2018–19 and 2019–20. HMRC told us this was because it considered that its criminal prosecution powers were best used to tackle the most serious and complex cases, rather than large volumes of smaller cases.16
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states that tax crime prosecutions are expected to increase in future years, focusing on the highest-harm and most serious cases. HMRC will also commence new work in the 2023-24 financial year to understand the deterrent effect of its criminal investigations by June 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: June 2024 2.2 Tax crime prosecutions are expected to increase in future years with a focus on the highest-harm and most serious cases of fraud. HMRC will commence new work in the 2023-24 financial year to understand the deterrent effect of the department’s criminal investigations resulting in prosecutions. The exact timeframe and scope of this work (including the methodological approach required) will be informed by an initial internal analysis and is dependent on the availability of appropriate data.