Fergie's Tech Blog

UK Government 'Loses' $1.7B in Data Transfer Fiasco

Tash Shifrin writes on ComputerWorld:

Around $1.7 billion of unpaid VAT did not appear on a U.K. Revenue and Customs debt case management system because of a failure to transfer data from the main VAT computer system, legislators have been told.

Edward Leigh, chair of the powerful Commons public accounts committee, highlighted a series of problems with major government IT projects in a parliamentary debate on the committee's inquiries

He told MPs: "We found that not all information on VAT debt recorded on the main VAT computer system had been transferred to the so-called trader register."

"That may appear to be an obscure point, but it meant that some $1.7 billion of debt failed to appear on the debt case management system. That is hardly a first-rate example of financial management by a department that should be at the forefront of such matters."

posted by Fergie @ 4/27/2007 05:35:00 PM