Specialist Inspections
HMIC inspecting HMRC
Inspection of HM Revenue and Customs
In April 2005 as a result of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act receiving Royal Assent, Her Majesty's Inland Revenue and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, were merged to create Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The Act and the Revenue and Customs (Inspections) Regulations 2005 extended the remit of HMIC and enabled the carrying out of inspections of HMRC for the purpose of assessing:
• the effectiveness of any acts or omissions of an officer or the Commissioners in connection with the prevention, detection or investigation of an offence by him or them, or any acts or omissions of an officer or the Commissioners in connection with criminal proceedings conducted by the Director;
• the effectiveness of any method devised by or for HMRC for identifying and dealing with a risk, any measures devised by or for HMRC for assuring that an officer or the Commissioners are properly applying that method, and the operation of any such method or measures by an officer or the Commissioners; and
• the operation of any guidance issued by the Commissioners to officers for assessing or demanding a civil penalty instead of carrying out a criminal investigation into any matter or vice versa, or the operation of any guidance issued by the Commissioners for using other powers to secure any revenue instead of assessing or demanding a civil penalty or carrying out a criminal investigation.
The Regulations require HMIC to provide a report of its inspections to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chancellor will arrange for any report received by him to be published, but may exclude from publication any parts of the report on the grounds of national security, jeopardising the safety of an individual, the naming of an individual without their consent, the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
HMIC has completed three thematic inspections of HMRC.
The first, ‘An Inspection of HMRC: Handling of Human Intelligence Sources’, was published on 27th March 2007. A redacted copy of the report is available on the HMIC website: An Inspection of HMRC: The Handling of Human Intelligence Sources
The second, ‘From Genesis to Revelations: A Study on Disclosure, an inspection into HM Revenue and Customs’ preparedness to meet its disclosure obligations under the Criminal Procedures and Investigation Act 1996, as amended by Criminal Justice Act 2003’, has been completed and was published in full on 21 August 2007: An Inspection of HMRC: From Genesis to Revelations - A Study on Disclosure
HMIC’s third inspection looked at frontier control and border management. Entitled ‘Customised for Control: An inspection of HM Revenue and Customs’ Detection Directorate and considerations for its realignment to meet the challenge of their role within the new Border structure’, it was published in a redacted form on 19 June 2008: Customised for Control: An inspection of the Detection Directorate of HM Revenue and Customs and considerations for its realignment to meet the challenge of their role within the new Border structure
