30 March 2001
Members of the Commons' Treasury select committee said the government should set out precisely how much had been lost through unpaid taxes between 1994 and 1998, why it had happened and what action was being taken to ensure it would not recur.
The cross-party committee of MPs also said their correspondence with the paymaster general, Dawn Primarolo, implied that Customs officials had rejected the findings of an independent report compiled by John Rocques, a former partner with Deloitte & Touche, and asked him to come up with fresh conclusions.
The MPs called on the government to 'explain the current status of the Rocques report and indicate the date by which it aims to secure publication'.
Committee members scrutinised the investigation launched by customs officers after they became aware of a duty-evasion scheme where alcohol intended for export was fraudulently diverted into the domestic market. Investigators did not arrest gangs selling the tax-free beer and spirits because they wanted to continue surveillance operations, but that decision is thought to have cost Customs and Excise £884m.
'The recent problems with the collection of excise duties show that the need for Customs and Excise to be better managed is greater than ever,' the MPs concluded.
PFmar2001
