Oh dear, it seems that (despite what we are told) Pacesetter can't quite fix everything in HMRC.
The BBC reports that approximately 12,000 people, told by HMRC
that they no longer needed to fill in self-assessment tax forms, have
been sent penalty notices in error.
The penalty notices from HMRC come ahead of new £10 daily fines for non-filing which start on Tuesday. Those affected were told that they no longer had to complete a self-assessment form, because their tax bill could be dealt with through PAYE.
All those on HMRC's records who did not complete a self-assessment, as expected by HMRC, received a letter in February/March asking them to contact HMRC if they felt they no longer needed to be in the self-assessment system.
Fair enough.
As a result, 130,000 people were taken out of the self-assessment process and HMRC's records were changed.
However, 12,000 of these people are now receiving penalty notices in error.
HMRC are quoted (using the obligatory Pacesetter "C word" again):
"We are very sorry and can reassure these customers that we know who they are and that this letter is incorrect - they do not owe a penalty. We are writing to all of them to apologise and to explain this error.The penalty notices state that in addition to the fixed penalty of £100 for late filing, fines of £10 a day kick in from Tuesday, up to a maximum of £900.
It is very unfortunate that this process error has taken the shine off the good news that we have taken 130,000 people out of self-assessment."
I dare say that this snafu can be added to the whiteboards for process improvement!
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Another victory for pacesetter perhaps? This organisation is now incapable of doing anything correctly. It is well and truly broken. This is a tragedy for the few loyal servants left who still believe in providing a public service. Never mind, in a few years they'll all have left and watch what happens then when the pacesetter pricks assume complete control.
ReplyDeleteQuite amazing given that Quality Management systems have been around for 20 years that most large organisations are still failing at the basics. HMRC might be well advised to wind the clock back to the principles outlined by Philip Crosby whose guiding principle was 'Doing It Right First Time' not screw it up continuously and then blame the junior staff and the taxpayer.
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