On 19 July 2022 HMRC published the results of the Large Business Customer Survey for 2020.

HMRC commissions the Large Business Customer Survey, conducted each year since 2015, to help assess the attitudes of business to their interaction with HMRC. Research is done through a quantitative telephone survey and a qualitative follow-up phase of in-depth interviews.

Most businesses rated their overall experience of dealing with HMRC as good in 2020. The relationship with their Customer Compliance Manager (CCM) was seen as central to interaction with HMRC. Some businesses considered that their CCM had actively tried to understand more about their business and the industry in which it operates, often a consequence of more continuity through dealing with the same CCM and specialists at HMRC. Businesses appreciated HMRC taking the initiative to communicate with them about COVID-19, EU Exit and IR35 in 2020.

The system could be further improved by allowing CCMs to make more meaningful decisions without having to defer to specialists, by speeding up responses and by continuing to improve HMRC’s understanding of their business and their business sector.

Businesses that considered they had a poor relationship with HMRC in 2020 often saw a lack of engagement from HMRC. The relationship was seen as ‘one-way’ and the CCM did not get to know the business. These businesses felt that HMRC were adversarial and not willing to work together to resolve outstanding issues.

Relationship with Customer Compliance Manager

Businesses were generally positive about the CCM model and considered it important for an open and collaborative relationship with HMRC. Most described their CCM as professional, approachable, responsive or pragmatic. Most businesses saw the CCM relationship as the most valuable aspect of working with HMRC.

COVID-19

Just under 7 in 10 businesses used at least one of the COVID-19 financial support schemes offered by HMRC in 2020. Over half the businesses used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and a similar proportion deferred their VAT payments. Businesses were positive about the support they received from HMRC in relation to the COVID-19 schemes they had used. Most businesses agreed that their CCM provided their business with the more general support it needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Communicating with HMRC

It was most common for businesses to contact HMRC on a monthly or quarterly basis in 2020. It was less common for businesses to contact HMRC less than once a quarter. A small minority did not contact HMRC at all in 2020, apart from routine filing. Businesses that had contact with HMRC in 2020 were positive about the outcome and most agreed that the interaction led to their business having a more transparent relationship with HMRC.

Large Business Mailbox

Just over half of businesses were confident about using the Large Business Mailbox, however, a significant minority said they were not confident. Some businesses felt there was a lack of clarity in terms of when to use the facility. Businesses that reported they were dissatisfied considered that their experience would be better if the responses via the mailbox were faster. HMRC should let businesses know when HMRC have received their query through the mailbox; improve the quality of the reply; let businesses know when HMRC is likely to respond to the query; and make it easier for businesses to reply through the mailbox.

Business Risk Reviews (BRR+)

Businesses that had a Business Risk Review (BRR+) in 2020 were positive about their experience. The majority agreed that the risk indicators in the BRR+ are understandable and seem relevant, and that it is clear how HMRC came to the decision about their risk rating. Most businesses also suggested they were taking steps to improve their HMRC risk rating as a result of going through the BRR+ process. In qualitative interviews, businesses considered that an improved risk rating results in a stronger relationship with HMRC.