Based upon feedback received from Northern Ireland members concerned at the deterioration in service levels provided by HMRC to Agents and Taxpayers alike, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland made a representa-tion on the issue directly to HMRC's Business Customer Unit.

The submission was built upon specific instances of customer service experienced by NI members who were particularly concerned that they can no longer directly contact NI Counties Area offices to resolve queries on behalf of clients with all calls relating to NI taxpayers now dealt with through Agent Dedicated Lines manned on the mainland.

A recurring theme of the responses received from members was in the area of communication issues.

Chartered Accountants Ireland wishes to thanks all those who shared their experiences with us. Without continued feedback from members we would not be able to make informed representations on your behalf.

After having had an initial meeting with HMRC on the matter, we anticipate some actions from HMRC in the coming weeks which we will share with readers in due course.

The submission is available on here.