The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged HMRC to address ten recommendations it has made for improving the Revenue’s customer services.

In a joint report with the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), the ICAEW stated that it is ‘widely acknowledged’ that HMRC struggles to meet the needs of taxpayers and agents.

The report found that agents often face difficulties contacting HMRC and when they do get through they can’t resolve the query on the first attempt.

Other issues include insufficient technical knowledge on behalf of HMRC’s advisers and problems with HMRC’s implementation of digital services.

The ICAEW and the CIOT have outlined ten recommendations to help HMRC improve its services.

‘Problems with HMRC customer service are well-documented, so it’s not a surprise that our research shows that although agents can generally connect with HMRC advisers through the phonelines, there are still significant challenges,’ said Frank Haskew, Head of Taxation at the ICAEW.

‘In particular, wait times are notably long and resolution rates are poor, with only a third of contact attempts fully resolved during the first call.

‘In our view, one of the most effective ways to reduce pressure on HMRC's traditional support channels is to minimise the need for agents to call in the first place. We found that over a third of calls to HMRC are for progress chasing and we’d like to see the introduction of a dedicated mechanism to meet this demand.’ The ICAEW’s recommendations can be read here.