Recommendation 30

We asked the Department if it accepted that the changing timeline of the programme undermined those who were developing a business around the requirements of the programme. HMRC recognised that the repeated delays to the programme’s delivery had been unwelcome and had knocked confidence in the programme among those in the software industry. HMRC said it was working very closely with the software providers to give them as much certainty as possible so they could continue to develop products and create a healthy marketplace. HMRC acknowledged that the sooner it could agree the design for the Self Assessment programme, the easier it would be for software developers to start developing the software. HMRC recognised that providers would not build the software until there was more progress with the design. APARI Software Ltd, told us that Making Tax Digital for Self Assessment required significantly more investment from software providers than the VAT part of the programme. APARI Software Ltd explained that the programme’s dependency on the software market meant that repeated delays 67 Qq 40, 81–83, 86, 89, 92 68 Qq 38, 80; C&AG’s Report Figure 8 69 Qq 49, 50; PTD0014, Written evidence submitted by APARI Software Ltd, 19 June 2023 70 Q 49; C&AG’s Report, para 3.28 and Figure 9; PTD0014, Written evidence submitted by APARI Software Ltd, 19 June 2023 71 PTD0014, Written evidence submitted by APARI Software Ltd, 19 June 2023 Progress with Making Tax Digital 21 could lead to the programme failing if the commercial opportunity Making Tax Digital was expected to provide did not justify the major investment required by the software industry.72