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HMRC will scan post to circulate around department
HMRC are set to digitise their internal post system, to remove the need to circulate letters physically around the UK’s tax offices.
Taxpayers’ mailed correspondences will be available to relevant Revenue staff members after being scanned into the department’s computer system.
The taxman has signed a contract with external provider EDM Group to carry out the scanning process, according to an internal HMRC briefing.
The news follows a pilot scheme held last year from April to July. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents thousands of public sector workers, has asked for a meeting with the Revenue to discuss the impact on tax authority employees of using an external provider.
Other “critical questions” about the tendering process also need to be answered, said the PCS, in particular “why an in-house alternative has been ruled out”.
An HMRC spokesperson responded to the union by saying scanning will help the department deal with the millions of taxpayers’ letters more quickly and efficiently.
“We will be able to reply to customers [sic] sooner, and the new system will also help improve the service we provide over the phone, as advisers will be able to see the post on screen and confirm we are in dealing with it.”
The timetable for implementation has yet to be finalised, and the Revenue do not have details of the effects on teams that currently handle post.
“Any external organisation handling taxpayer data will do so in accordance with our own strict rules on taxpayer confidentiality,” added the spokesperson.
Paul Aplin, tax partner at AC Mole & Sons, said, scanning “has to be a sensible move. It will mean correspondence is captured faster and can be actioned more quickly. It will also mean it is available electronically to HMRC staff wherever in the country they happen to be sitting. I don’t have issue with outsourcing as long as there are strict confidentiality and security safeguards.”
