Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of the National Audit Office, has reported on the 2019-20 accounts of HM Revenue & Customs. His report focuses on: HMRC’s performance against its objective of collecting revenues; the income tax system; HMRC’s approach to the strategic challenges it faces; the causes and rate of error and fraud in Personal Tax Credits; and the future challenges presented by the replacement of tax credits by Universal Credit and the impact of COVID-19.

The C&AG has qualified his regularity audit opinion on the 2019-20 Resource Accounts because of material levels of error and fraud in Personal Tax Credits expenditure; the material level of error and fraud in research and development Corporation Tax reliefs; and HMRC having breached its Net Cash Requirement Parliamentary control total.

HM Revenue & Customs annual report and accounts 2019-20

Audit report (pages R4-R77)

Resource accounts audit certificate (pages 179-184)

Trust Statement audit report (on the revenue recorded by HMRC for taxes and duties in 2019-20, pages 176-178)

Publication details

  • HC: 891

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