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HMRC review Business Records Checks

HMRC is reviewing its business records checks (BRC) initiative following pressure from the professional bodies and small business groups.

A pilot scheme had been undertaken in the first part of 2011 in eight geographical areas and involved checks on the adequacy of the business records of small and medium sized businesses. The pilots apparently found that around 44% of businesses visited had issues with their record keeping, while around 12% of those visited had seriously inadequate records.

HMRC then decided to extend the pilot activity from September 2011 to cover a number of other areas across the UK. The announcement stated that the number of full-time staff employed on the programme would rise from 30 to 120 and that up to 12,000 checks would be carried out by the end of the current financial year. It also explained that the purpose of this pilot extension was to refine the process, before a final decision on a national rollout was taken early in 2012.

However, HMRC have now announced that it will review the scheme with representative bodies to address their complaints about inadequate consultation. The pilot scheme will continue to press ahead with a limited number of BRC in the meantime.

If you receive any direct contact from HMRC or have concerns about your record keeping, please do get in touch.

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