Transparency data

Exploring differences in company accounts 2018

This Data Usage Agreement for exploring differences in company accounts filed between Companies House and HMRC was agreed and put in place in 2018.

Documents

Details

This agreement is published as part of the Code of Practice for public authorities disclosing information under Chapters 1, 3 and 4 (Public Service Delivery, Debt and Fraud) of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

The purpose of this pilot is to identify where differences in accounts filed between HMRC and Companies House over a period of 48 months indicates fraudulent activity.

This pilot will help Companies House to identify potential fraud and error and, in establishing improvements to the operation of the account filing process, ensure that Companies House is presenting a more accurate picture of the financial health of businesses.

This pilot will also enable HMRC to identify where companies are understating accounts and thereby reducing tax liabilities. In doing so, HMRC will be able to redeem extra public funds through increased dividends.

Published 19 October 2023