Great expectations of HM Revenue & Customs

Gavin McFarlane of Temple Chambers Cardiff

The last few years have witnessed a plethora of failed Customs and Excise fraud investigations and prosecutions. The costs to the taxpayer of compensation to those wrongly convicted, to say nothing of the wasted legal expenditure, meant that few were surprised when the Chancellor announced the department’s merger with the Inland Revenue, which occurred earlier this year, to form HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).