Civil Investigation of Fraud – Press Briefing

Issue

The Civil Investigation of Fraud (CIF) procedure was successfully rolled out within the Special Civil Investigations (SCI) Unit on the 1st September 2005. In order to increase our level of work in this area we have formed new teams in Local Compliance and National Compliance to tackle serious tax fraud where CIF is appropriate. This will contribute to reducing the tax gap.

Key Date

The new teams will be operational from the 1st July.

Background

CIF was introduced to allow HMRC to deal with indirect and direct serious tax fraud in a consistent manner. This procedure was also designed to alleviate the cost and time burden, on the taxpayer, in producing two separate disclosure reports – a single disclosure report can now be submitted that covers both indirect and direct taxes. Once this procedure has been offered to the taxpayer, HMRC retains no underlying threat of prosecution for the original tax loss. A prosecution sanction does remain but only for making a materially false disclosure.

Why have these teams been formed outside of SCI?

The CIF procedure is an important weapon in HMRC’s armoury for tackling fraud and supporting our programme to improve compliance. The introduction of trained, specialist teams in Local Compliance and National Compliance increases our ability to tackle more serious fraud cases, where CIF is considered the most suitable intervention.

Where will they be based?

Local compliance CIF teams will be operating out of London, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Stockport, Southampton, Leeds, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
National Compliance will have a capability with in the Labour Providers Unit and in the Special Trade Investigation Unit.

What is the difference between the Special Civil Investigations CIF teams and these new operational CIF teams?

SCI will investigate the very largest cases, and other cases where their particular expertise can add value. The new operational CIF teams will deal with those cases not being investigated by SCI.
Potential CIF cases will continue to be rigorously reviewed to ensure the CIF procedures are only used in cases where it provides a meaningful intervention to fraud.

Will operational CIF teams apply the procedures differently?

No. All cases will be rigorously quality assured and all staff will need to undergo a programme of training before they are authorised to use the CIF procedures. This applies to both SCI cases as well as operational CIF cases. This is to provide consistency both in terms of the number and suitability of cases taken on under CIF and the quality of the subsequent investigation.

Does that mean HMRC will be applying CIF procedures to more cases and/or a wider range of cases than before?

Our intention will be to take on a greater number of cases under the CIF procedure, but the same criteria will apply as before.

How will you ensure professional standards are maintained?

All operational CIF officers will undergo a programme of training. Only after successful completion of the training will they be authorised to use the CIF procedures. We also operate a robust Quality Assurance programme that will be extended to cover cases dealt with by the new teams. As well as these internal controls the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies also provide external scrutiny to the department.