I understand that managers from the Customs side of the merged HMRC are being allowed to sign off contract settlements (these are the legally binding documents signed at the end of an enquiry).Prior to the merger with Customs, senior Revenue inspectors would sign off the cases after a settlement was agreed.
Nothing wrong with that, if the Customs managers are trained in tax compliance.
The trouble is, according to my source, they aren't.
Maybe HMRC should ensure that those who sign legally binding documents receive the necessary training first?
Tax does have to be taxing.
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I spent the best part of 18 months training to be an Inspector. We now have managers who have never done the ITC course who get the salary increase straight away without taking an exam and think they know it all! Most were previously in "pink fluffy jobs". This sounds very much like "South Central Area" to me.
ReplyDeleteWhy though would anybody in their right mind enter into a contract settlement? In the past 19 years I have never issued a penalty determination. HMRC are too scared.
As for taking an appeal before the Commissioners forget it. It costs too much.
Right I'm going to lie down in a dark room now.
Ah, but there are also ex-Revenue senior officers now in charge of criminal investigation teams who don't have a clue about their role. Oh, and they also take the salary increase. There's a bit of a difference between signing a piece of paper and deploying unarmed investigation officers to carry out surveillance and arrests on some potentially extremely violent criminals, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI think the best one I've heard was the ex-IR SO who decided to go on a house search and then insisted on his hour off at lunch time!
And yet, local VAT Officers seem unable to make the most minor decisions without referring to the centre.
ReplyDeleteAll part of the Stasi takeover of a once (relatively) humane and efficient VAT service, John. Decisions are not to be made by the proles - they might make the right ones.
ReplyDeleteOK, Anon, then we ask for a review which goes out of time. Then we appeal to the Tribunal and HMRC's legal people spend 18 months asking for more time before agreeing we were right. Then we have to hassle them to give us our money back. Then they ignore a request for interest. How many interest free compulsory loans has the DEAR LEADER taken? We had a pretty good relationship with our LVO until about 2006 but now we can't trust a word of what they are obliged to say to us.
ReplyDeleteLVOs were ground out under the jackboots.
ReplyDelete