Mapeley, the company that was attacked for putting the £2bn Inland Revenue STEPS outsourcing contract offshore is to be exonerated in a National Audit Office report due out in early April.
The NAO will vindicate Mapeley, finding that the savings made by putting the estate of the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise in a tax haven constituted only 10% of the difference between Mapeley and the next bidder, so was not crucial to Mapeley winning the bid.
It will say that the Mapeley bid would still have offered the best value for money, regardless of the offshore transfer.
However, the Inland Revenue is bracing itself for criticism over its handling of what became a public relations disaster, following the revelation in 2002 that the very agencies tackling tax avoidance had contracted 600 of their buildings to Mapeley’s sister company, registered in the tax haven of Bermuda.
The NAO’s report will also suggest that the Inland Revenue should be managing the contract more effectively.
References: EGi News 01/03/04
