Law Commission says HMRC should be more accountable

Date: 8th July 2008

A report has said that there needs to be a better mechanism to help people obtain compensation from public sector bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) when they act wrongfully.

The Law Commission produced a report which asked how a "clear, simple and just system of redress" could be put in place to protect individuals who have suffered losses as a result of "seriously substandard administrative action".

The document is open to consultation until later in the year and suggests that court-based remedies should be combined with non-court mechanisms, such as public sector ombudsmen, to help people who were treated unfairly by organisations such as HMRC.

Kenneth Parker, the commissioner in charge of the project, commented: "Our key concern is to make sure that we balance fairness to an aggrieved person with the need to promote effective public administration, bearing in mind the special role that is played by public bodies in our society."

The Professional Contractors Group, an organisation that represents the interests of sole traders and freelancers, said that it welcomed moves to make HMRC more accountable.

"For too long HMRC has been free to trample all over the businesses of innocent and law-abiding taxpayers," its managing director, John Brazier, commented.