HMRC is extending its Customer Co-ordinator role to many of their large partnership businesses.

The Large and Complex Business Directorate within HMRC introduced the new role of Customer Co-ordinator in June last year for large businesses that did not have a dedicated Customer Relationship Manager (CRM). CRMs are senior tax specialists who work with HMRC's largest businesses with an intention of ensuring that these taxpayers pay the right amount of tax at the right time whilst also seeking to deliver on HMRC's individual departmental objectives and commitments.

HMRC also has a dedicated Large Partnership Unit, and a number of large partnerships already have CRMs. From June 2011 onwards, HMRC's Customer Co-ordinator service will be extended to many large partnership customers who do not already have a CRM.

For a business to qualify as a large partnership, it must have ten or more partners, or five or more partners if the turnover is £5 million or above, or the turnover exceeds £15 million.

It is intended that Customer Co-ordinators will provide a professional, joined-up service for large partnerships. The Co-ordinator will be a single named point of contact for the partnership, overseeing their tax issues and directing them towards appropriate specialists and published information. The intention is that they will follow up issues within HMRC to ensure they are concluded within an agreed timeframe and will also maintain a single up-to-date overview of these partnerships and their issues and risks.

Customer Co-ordinators will be sending introductory letters to new large partnerships under their management by 30 June 2011.

More information can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/cc-role.htm