In this section:
- Working Together: HM Revenue & Customs and representative bodies
- Consultative groups, forums and working parties
Consultative groups, forums and working parties
We've set up a number of forums to help us exchange views and ideas on the best ways to manage and improve the way we work with taxpayers, businesses and agents. These forums have representatives from business and the professions and others who have an interest in what we do.
It helps everyone if we can find ways of working together that are simple and efficient. We've set up consultation groups and working parties to help us find out what we need to take account of so that we can collect tax efficiently and fairly while minimising the administrative burden to business and individuals. We carefully manage our forums to avoid duplication and overlap, maximising the return from the time people from outside HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) who participate.
Each of the groups has its own terms of reference and meets at different intervals.
This guide will help you find the consultation group, forum or working party you're interested in, what it sets out to achieve and how to find out more about its work.
On this page:
- Forums and groups for tax agents and advisers
- Forums and groups on employment and pensions issues
- Forums and groups for business tax and VAT
- Forums and groups for personal taxes
- Forums and groups for Customs issues
- Forums and groups for strategic issues
Forums and groups for tax agents and advisers
There are a number of forums for consulting with professional agents and advisers.
Agents and Advisers Strategy Steering Group
The Agents and Advisers Strategy Steering Group is a forum to help us build on our existing relationship with agents and advisers. Our aim is to work together with professional agent bodies to improve our service to agents and your clients, including:
- improving the authorisation and identification of agents
- improving the service we provide
- making everyone's obligations clear to reduce the cost and burden of meeting them
- recognising the pressures on agents when planning our work schedules
Get the Agents and Advisers Strategy Steering Groups terms of reference
Read the Agents and Advisers Strategy Steering Groups meeting minutes
Working Together Steering Group
Working Together is a key partnership between HMRC and professional bodies representing the interests of agents, advisers and their clients. It looks at any operational issues raised by professional bodies or through local Working Together groups. The Steering Group meets on a quarterly basis to provide strategic direction and to monitor and review progress. Working Together also produces a quarterly newsletter for tax advisers to keep you up to date with key issues of interest to the profession.
Find out more about the Working Together partnership
Read the Working Together Groups terms of reference
Read the minutes of the Working Together Steering Group meetings
Read the Working Together newsletter
There are two subgroups that also come under the Working Together banner. The Working Together e-sub group provides an opportunity for HMRC and the representative bodies to co-operate on electronic filing, payment and communications, including our online services.
The Carter Agent Steering Group provides a forum for representative bodies and HMRC to work together on effectively moving towards online filing and payment, as part of the HMRC Carter Programme's remit to migrate all filing and payments for businesses and IT-literate individuals by 2011.
Compliance Reform Forum (CRF)
The CRF consults agent representatives on the development of new approaches to compliance and on improving the relationship with agents on matters relating to compliance.
Specifically, Compliance Reform Forum sets out to:
- encourage representative body input into the design and delivery of new compliance checking activities
- get both the agent community and HMRC operational staff involved in making changes to our compliance checking activities
Get more details about the work of the Compliance Reform Forum
Direct Taxes Consultative Committee
The Direct Taxes Consultative Committee provides the business community and the professional bodies with an opportunity to tell us how the things we do and the way we do them affect them. We can then use this information in order to improve the way we do things in the future.
Check the Direct Taxes Consultative Committees minutes of meetings
Accounting and Tax Group
From 2004, UK companies were allowed to use International Accounting Standards (IAS) in their non-consolidated accounts. We set up the Accounting and Tax Group forum to look into the effects of this on tax. The new rules have bedded in and the forum now keeps an eye on new UK accounting standards and new IAS to see what effect they're likely to have on tax.
Get the Accounting and Tax Groups terms of reference
Get the Accounting and Tax Groups minutes of meetings
Forums and groups on employment and pensions issues
There are several forums for dealing with employment and pension issues.
Employment Consultation Forum
The Employment Consultation Forum is the main forum for consulting with employers and agents who act for them. The main aim is to look into how our policies and the way we carry them out affect employers. There are also a number of subgroups that look at more detailed elements of tax and employment:
- Benefits and Expenses
- Joint Forum on expatriate tax and NICs - expats
- Modernising PAYE Processes for Customers - MPPC
- Statutory Payments
- Student Loans
- Data Quality
- Large Employer Operational Issues
- Payroll Consultation Panel
Read the Employment Consultation Forums terms of reference
Get the Benefits and Expenses Sub Groups terms of reference
Check the Joint Forum on expatriate tax and NICs terms of reference
Find the Modernising PAYE Processes for Customers terms of reference
Get the Statutory Payment Consultation Groups terms of reference
Get the Student Loans Sub Groups terms of reference
Read the Employer Consultation Forum minutes of meetings
Check the Benefits and Expenses Sub Group minutes of meetings
Find the Joint Forum on expatriate tax and NICs minutes of meetings
Get the Modernising PAYE Processes for Customers minutes of meetings
Read the Statutory Payment Consultation Groups minutes of meetings
Pensions Scheme Customer Forum
The Pensions Scheme Customer Forum was set up so that we can discuss with the pensions industry any issues they have. These discussions can cover aspects of the law or how our procedures affect the industry.
Check the Pensions Scheme Customer Forums minutes of meetings
Pension Industry Working Group
The aim of the Pension Industry Working Group is to help with the Pensions
Tax Simplification project. This forum gives us the opportunity to discuss
this project with the main representative bodies for the pensions industry.
Get the Pension Industry Working
Groups minutes of meetings
Forums and groups for business tax and VAT
The forums for discussing business tax and VAT are listed below.
Joint VAT Consultative Committee (JVCC)
The JVCC provides a forum for us to discuss VAT issues with representative trade and professional organisations. We want to know how the regulations and our procedures affect them. It also provides an opportunity for us to get feedback on any changes we're planning for our department.
Read the JVCCs terms of reference
Check the JVCCs minutes of meetings
Business Tax Forum (BTF)
The aim of the Business Tax Forum (BTF) is to improve the way the tax system operates. We hope this will provide benefits for both ourselves and for large businesses by:
- strengthening the relationship and improving understanding between large businesses, ourselves and HM Treasury
- improving the way we operate the tax system
Check the Business Tax Forums terms of Reference
Read the Business Tax Forums minutes of meetings
Corporation Tax Consultation
The Corporation Tax Operational Consultative Committee was first set up as the Self Assessment Consultative Committee to discuss the introduction of Self Assessment. It now provides an opportunity for us to discuss with the main accountancy and industry bodies the way we operate Corporation Tax.
Get the Corporation Tax Consultations minutes of meetings
Large Business Advisory Board (LBAB)
We commissioned a review of our links with business in 2006. This recommended
that we should set up the LBAB. The aims of this forum are to:
- make sure that the recommendations of the review are put into effect
- see how well the recommendations are being implemented and report on progress
Get the LBABs terms of reference (PDF 32K)
Read the LBABs minutes of meetings
Large Corporates Forum
We set up the Large Corporates Forum to provide a meeting place for large businesses and the Large Business Service (LBS) to exchange views and ideas. We hope that this will help us to understand the needs of large business better. It also gives us the opportunity to talk about current issues and to discuss new ideas. This lets business have a say in the way new tax laws are drawn up.
Read the Large Corporates Forums terms of reference
Check the Large Corporates Forums minutes of meetings
Oil and Gas Industry Direct Tax Forum
The Oil and Gas Industry Direct Tax Forum is a forum where we can meet representatives from the oil and gas industry. We discuss with them the tax policies that apply to them and the way we operate them. The meetings include Treasury representatives as well as our own specialists and industry representatives.
Read the Oil and Gas Industry Direct Tax Forums terms of reference
Check the Oil and Gas Industry Direct Tax Forums minutes of meetings
Forums and groups for personal taxes
There are forums for discussing personal tax as well as business issues.
Overview of Complex Personal Tax Teams
This forum is to provide a way of discussing the needs of individuals with high levels of income, wealth or complexity. It lets us meet with those individuals, their agents and advisers and the professional bodies that are interested in this area.
Get the Complex Personal Tax Team Consultation Forums terms of reference
Get the Complex Personal Tax Team Consultation Forums minutes of meetings
Forums and groups for Customs issues
There are forums for dealing with matters that were dealt with by Customs & Excise before the merger to form HMRC.
Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC)
Representatives from over 20 member organisations meet with us to discuss the procedures and documentation for bringing goods into the UK and getting clearance for them. It lets us exchange views and discuss any changes we intend to make. From time to time we set up ad hoc sub-groups to discuss complex legal matters.
Check the JCCC minutes of meetings
Joint Alcohol and Tobacco Consultation Group (JATCG)
The JATCG is a forum for representatives from the alcohol and tobacco trade association, including those representing warehouse keepers and some hauliers.
The forum gives our alcohol, tobacco and holding and movement policy teams the opportunity to discuss with the trade any current issues and raise any matters that are concerning them.
The forum doesn't deal with policies on duty rates or structural issues. These are dealt with in discussions between individual trade associations and the policy team that deals with them.
Read the Joint Alcohol and Tobacco Consultation Group minutes of meetings
Forums and groups for strategic issues
Some forums are for discussing issues that have an effect across all taxes.
The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board
The 2006 Budget announced targets for reducing the burdens put on businesses by the tax and duty system. We commissioned KPMG to look into ways of meeting those targets.
Their research showed that our system compared well with other countries. But tax forms and returns - as well as audit and inspections - are still issues for business. So we've set ourselves targets to reduce the burden of dealing with:
- forms and returns - by at least ten per cent over five years
- audits and inspections - by ten per cent over three years and at least 15 per cent over five years
We also aim to remove as many irritations as possible even if they don't add to the burden of administration.
The Administrative Burden Advisory Board was set up to work with us to help reduce the complexity of the tax system and the burdens on business.
Get the Administrative Burden Advisory Boards terms of reference
Get the Administrative Burden Advisory Boards minutes of meetings
Tax Law Rewrite
The aim of the Tax Law Rewrite Project is to rewrite the UK's primary tax legislation to make it clearer and easier to use - but without changing the law.
Details of the Tax Law Rewrite project
Get the Tax Law Rewrites minutes of meetings
Research and Development Consultative Forums
The Research and Development Consultative Committee lets us discuss with business and professional bodies the best way to deal with the schemes that give tax relief for money spent on research and development.
Get the Research and Development Consultative Forums terms of reference
Get the Research and Development Consultative Forums minutes of meetings
