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HMRC and new prosecutions office launched

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18th Apr 2005
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The new integrated revenue department, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), took on the business of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise today, 18 April, as a new independent prosecutions office was launched.

HMRC launched a new website, combining the information and online services previously provided by the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise.

Redirects are in operation and HMRC has asked visitors to use its feedback facility in the event that a "favourite" does not work.

The names Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise will continue to be "legal and valid". It will be some time before a new logo is applied to HMRC's documentation and other materials.

Prosecutions Office
The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) becomes the "newest component" of the UK's criminal justice system, the Attorney General's office announced.

It will prosecute all HMRC's criminal cases, involving "drug smugglers, money launderers and tax fraudsters".

David Green QC, RCPO's first director who was appointed last December, said: "It is a great privilege to lead this new fully independent prosecutions office. RCPO is a highly experienced team of specialist prosecuting lawyers and support staff. We conduct some of the most serious and complex cases that come before the courts: from drug importation to tax fraud."

Green said his priority is the establishment of RCPO as "a genuinely independent prosecuting authority that enjoys both public confidence and the confidence of the legal community".

RCPO will be fair and accountable, and will ensure "prosecutions of the highest standard", he added.

The legal basis for both HMRC and RCPO is the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, which received Royal Assent on 7 April.

Andrew Goodall
Editor, TaxZone

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