Recommendation 16

HMRC and Companies House have explored opportunities from Companies House’s new powers, including a single streamlined system for registering and filing company, Corporation Tax and VAT documentation which would provide more assurance over the addresses of registered businesses. HMRC and Companies House estimated in early 2024 that closer integration of systems would take between five and 10 years to implement.43 HMRC and Companies House told us they are regularly meeting about this programme, but it will require significant investment and there are issues which need to be resolved first, including different definitions in their regimes and differences in filing dates.44 Both departments acknowledged that delivering 36 C&AG’s Report, para 2.8 37 Qq 56, 72 38 Q 71 39 Q 43 40 Autumn Budget 2024 – HC 295 41 Q 81 42 Q 94 43 C&AG’s Report, para 2.22 44 Q47 12 a joint service offers a significant prize.45 Companies House also explained that its shopping list was full delivering the reforms that ECCTA has already made possible, and it would need to deliver these first before a joint registration service.46 HMRC told us it was working with Companies House to bid for more investment at Spending Review to introduce a joint registration service.47 45 Qq 47–48 46 Q 47 47 Q 93 13 2 Preventing and responding to tax evasion Reforms to the role of Companies House