UK Accountants Are Not Using The Revenue's E-Filing System

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

16 July 2002

After surveying 200 of its members, the UK's Association of Chartered Certified Accountants says that the Inland Revenue's internet tax-filing service was used by barely 5% of them - and they should constitute its primary market.

The ACCA says that 98% of respondents to the survey had experienced problems in working with the Revenue due to system failures or errors, up 3% on last year. The sort of problems encountered by ACCA members who used the Revenue's self-assessment service included delays in processing returns, untrained staff and incorrect tax demands.

The Revenue's e-filing system has had a disastrous year, with a mere 79,000 returns out of almost 9m being completed electronically. At the height of the tax-filing season the system was shut down for over a month when security breaches allowed filers to see other people's tax returns.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at the ACCA, said the Revenue appeared to have wasted millions on TV adverts for the e-filing system.

"Given that the major complaint of our members was that they or their clients had suffered lengthy delays with the Inland Revenue processing returns, e-filing should have been the answer to their problems," said Mr Roy-Chowdhury. "Instead, it seems that very few people are using it and it is not a resounding success among those who do."

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