Information Commissioner's Office

HM Revenue and Customs

6 July 2017, Central government

The complainant requested information from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about referrals from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in relation to off payroll contractors who have failed to provide income tax assurances. HMRC has disclosed some of the requested information but has refused to disclose the remainder of the information stating that it does not hold some of the information and relying on section 44(1) to refuse the remainder. The request and HMRC’s final position are set out in Annex A for ease of reference. The Commissioner’s decision is that on the balance of probability, HMRC does not hold the information requested at point two of the request. In respect of HMRC’s reliance on section 44(1)(a) in relation to parts of the request at points one, three and five, the Commissioner does not consider that section 44(1)(a) is engaged. In respect of point four of the request, the Commissioner considers that the information is held but that this element of the request has not been responded to; the Commissioner requires HMRC to issue a response to this part of the request. The Commissioner considers that the lack of response to point four constitutes a breach of section 1(1)(b) FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Disclose the information withheld under section 44(1)(a). Issue a response to point four of the request The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

FOI 1: Partly upheld FOI 44: Upheld