Duty and Customs Column

The principal function of the Public Accounts Committee being to examine the accounts which show the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure it is naturally heavily involved with the activities of HMRC and closely follows the department's success or otherwise in the protection of the revenue. Prior to the merger of the two departments of direct and indirect taxation it naturally focused on the former Customs & Excise in its independent capacity. In the run-up to the recent holiday season the Committee published on 6 December 2005 its standard report on Customs &...