Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of the National Audit Office, has reported on the 2020-21 accounts of HM Revenue & Customs. His report focuses on: HMRC’s performance against its objective of collecting revenue and managing compliance; customer service performance; HMRC’s approach to the strategic challenges it faces; and the causes and rates of error and fraud in the COVID-19 support schemes, in Personal Tax Credits and in Corporation Tax research and development reliefs.
The C&AG has qualified his regularity audit opinion on the 2020-21 Resource Accounts because of material levels of error and fraud in the COVID-19 support schemes, Personal Tax Credits expenditure and Corporation Tax research and development reliefs.
HM Revenue & Customs annual report and accounts 2020-21
Resource accounts and audit certificate (pages 213-219)
"The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced tax revenues and made it more difficult for HMRC to take enforcement action. Now that the initial impact of the pandemic has eased, normal tax compliance levels should be restored. HMRC also needs to recover money paid out through fraudulent claims made under the COVID-19 support schemes.”
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO
Press release
View press release (4 Nov 2021)
