Professional bodies welcome HMRC’s updated standard for tax agents
By Susan Cattell, Head of Tax Technical Policy
20 May 2024
We highlight HMRC’s updated standard for agents, including a helpful endorsement of Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation.
HMRC’s standard for agents
The standard, first published in 2016, sets out the behaviour HMRC expects from all tax agents and advisers and explains how HMRC will tackle the minority of agents who don’t meet the standard.
The leading UK accountancy and tax bodies have welcomed the publication of the latest version of the standard on 17 May 2024.
Interaction with Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation
Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) is the code, co-authored by seven professional bodies, setting out the principles and standards of behaviour that all members, affiliates and students of the PCRT bodies must follow in their tax work. ICAS is one of these bodies, along with the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Association of Taxation Technicians, the Association of Accounting Technicians, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
The PCRT group has worked collaboratively with HMRC on amendments to the standard since the last major update at the beginning of 2023.
The standard doesn’t override the duties set out by ICAS and the other bodies, and PCRT sets the highest standards for our members. We are pleased that the updated standard recognises the importance of PCRT and states that if agents are meeting their professional body’s code of ethics, the HMRC standard shouldn’t place further requirements on them. This is a welcome clarification and removes any potential duplication and unnecessary compliance burdens of applying multiple and potentially misaligned codes of conduct.
The updated standard also addresses some inconsistencies that had arisen between the standard and PCRT (and the supporting ethical codes of the professional bodies), following the 2023 update. There is now consistent messaging, and we welcome the collaborative approach taken by HMRC to resolve points raised by our members.
Statement from the PCRT group
In a joint statement the bodies said:
“We welcome the renewed recognition of Professional Conduct in Relation to Tax (PCRT) as the gold standard through its inclusion in the revised standard.
There is currently considerable focus on potential future regulation of the tax services market with an ongoing government consultation. The PCRT group are keen that any future direction raises standards consistently across the whole market to the high levels required by PCRT. The revised standard is reassuring in its endorsement of PCRT as setting and meeting the desired high standards of tax agents, as well as ensuring that those meeting it are not having to consider multiple, overlapping codes of ethics.”
Let us know your views
ICAS responds to many tax calls for evidence and consultations, as well as producing tax policy papers and reports. We also regularly attend meetings with HMRC at which service levels, delays and other issues are discussed, and we raise problems being encountered by members. We welcome input from members to inform our work; email tax@icas.com to share your insights and feedback.
