HMRC’s performance is worrying insolvency practitioners

Almost three quarters of those who took part in the questionnaire believe that HMRC officials had made the insolvency process more difficult to manage in recent years and only half of practitioners described the authority as “helpful”.

Philip Sykes, R3’s president, said: “The Government, as a creditor, can do much more to help promote a business rescue culture.

“At the moment, it can be responsible for lengthy paperwork delays, and creates extra costs for itself, the insolvency profession and other creditors, while its lack of commercial decision-making capabilities undermines business and job rescue proposals.

“The insolvency profession believes the Government's behaviour as a creditor makes it harder to manage insolvency processes and rescue businesses. It's one of the creditors the insolvency profession looks forward to working with the least - which is a problem given how often the government is a creditor in insolvencies.”

Common gripes included difficulties getting in contact with the tax authority on the phone and having to wait significant periods for clearance of cases.

R3 has previously floated the idea of HMRC setting up a dedicated insolvency unit to improve its performance.

At Royds our dispute resolution team has a wealth of experience representing clients in cases involving complicated insolvency laws. For more information please visit or contact Stewart Wilkinson or Ashok Pael.