Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enquires were initiated by HM Revenue and Customs Customer Compliance Group in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.

Compliance checks form one element of HMRC’s broader compliance approach which is increasingly focused on making it easier for customers to get their tax right first time and hard to get it wrong, by investing in its digital systems, simplifying its policies and processes, and improving guidance and support to improve compliance.

The number of compliance checks opened is only one indicator of compliance performance in any year and is not a reliable indicator of compliance activity undertaken or compliance performance when viewed in isolation.

The number of compliance checks opened was not routinely reported prior to 2019-20. From 2020 to 2021, all numbers have been published in the HMRC quarterly performance update here.

Compliance checks may span many years and may range from light-touch single risk checks to complex, multiple risk compliance checks. A compliance check is opened when a risk is opened in a given tax year for a given tax regime.

The number of compliance checks opened and closed by HMRC compliance staff each year will be determined by the risk landscape, its strategic priorities and ministerial commitments.