Taxpayers will be able to log complaints online about HM Revenue & Customs for the first time from the autumn, following pressure from MPs.
The government has declared its ambition to be “one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world” and its ongoing “Making Tax Digital” programme will require millions of businesses to keep digital records and file tax returns online.
However, people who contact the Adjudicator’s Office to make a complaint against HMRC or the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) can only do so currently by post, telephone or fax.
The Adjudicator’s Office offers an independent review of complaints about HMRC and the VOA relating to mistakes, unreasonable delays, misleading advice or inappropriate behaviour by staff. However, the department cannot consider disputes about policy or matters of law.
Nicky Morgan, Conservative chair of the Treasury select committee, wrote to HMRC this month expressing astonishment that the public were unable to contact the Adjudicator’s Office by email.
In response to her letter, Jim Harra, second permanent secretary and deputy chief executive of HMRC, promised to provide an email address for the Adjudicator’s Office by the autumn.
He blamed HMRC’s prioritisation of leaving the EU for the delay in digitising the department’s complaints process.
Mrs Morgan welcomed the move, saying it was “long overdue”.
“The AO plays a valuable role in resolving complaints against HMRC, yet many people are unaware of its existence,” she added. “And of those people who are aware, it can be a struggle for them to get in touch with the AO.
“As the adjudicator told the committee, the lack of digital access to the AO’s service is not defendable. Public-facing services simply have to be digitally accessible these days.”
