ECH6095 – Liaison – Hidden Economy Teams (HETs)

Hidden Economy Teams (HETs) are part of Local Compliance – Small Customer Group.

The Hidden Economy is the term used to describe those people who live and work alongside the rest of society but who have not registered all or some of their sources of income to HM Revenue & Customs (HEG1020).

Hidden Economy Teams or HETs as they are commonly known were formally established on 1 November 2006 (HEG1040).

They were created by bringing together

• Right Track Teams,
• Joint Shadow Economy Teams and
• Shadow Economy Teams

which had been set up to meet some of the recommendations of the 1999 report by Lord Grabiner on the Informal Economy.

HETs’ objectives are primarily to register people with HMRC and to assess the right amount of arrears.

HETs will work closely with ECITs ( ECH7360) on employer issues. However this does not preclude other EC staff from liaising with HETs should the situation arise.