Summaries of selected statements | 53 2019-17. IT error meant Customs and Tax Administration was unable to charge interest for more than two years In 2013, the IT system ‘Én Skattekonto’ (‘One Tax Account’) was put into operation. Businesses which had a negative balance in their account were liable to pay interest, which would be calculated on a daily basis and added on a monthly basis. Shortly after the IT system had come into operation, it turned out that the interest function of the system was not working. As a result, interest was not added and businesses were not charged interest during the first six months, and this was still the case for many businesses during the following 18 months. The interest function was not fully functional until more than two years after the system had come into operation. The Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT) provided information about the problem on its website and in a newsletter to the professional association of auditors just under six months after the system had come into operation. Only when the error had been resolved did SKAT write directly to the businesses, informing them about the problem. However, some businesses had previously received a letter – in which the problem was not mentioned directly. SKAT subsequently charged businesses interest if they owed tax at the time when the system became fully functional. Businesses which did not owe tax at that time were not charged interest even if they had previously had a negative balance in their account. After being contacted by a business about the matter, the Ombudsman decided to investigate a number of issues in relation to the IT system and the way in which SKAT had handled the problem with the interest function. The Ombudsman stated that it was extraordinarily unfortunate that an IT system with such defects was put into operation at all, but that he had no basis for assuming that SKAT had been aware of the problem before the system was put into operation. The Ombudsman found that SKAT’s guidance was not adequate and not suited to guide businesses correctly about the problem. In the Ombudsman’s opinion the basis for charging interest retrospectively was open to doubt. However, as he was of the opinion that applicable law gave no clear-cut answers, the Ombudsman overall did not have sufficient grounds for repudiating the tax authorities’ assessment of the question of retrospective charging of interest but found that the question should be resolved by the courts. 2019-25. General own-initiative investigation of 300 cases from customer centre of Danish Tax Agency In a general investigation opened on the Ombudsman’s own initiative, the Ombudsman reviewed 300 cases from the customer centre of the Danish Tax Agency. The investigation was carried out under section 17(2) of the Ombudsman Act, which authorises general investigations by the Ombudsman of an authority’s processing of cases. The cases consisted of written guidance given by the customer centre to citizens and businesses that had contacted the centre with questions on matters within the remit of the Danish Tax Administration. The Ombudsman’s overall impression from his review of the 300 cases was that the customer centre had given the citizens and businesses fast, clear and easy-to-understand answers to their questions. In addition, the answers given by the customer centre were generally worded in a friendly, helpful manner. In some cases, however, the Ombudsman found that the recipient of the reply might have been in doubt whether it was intended as a guide only or was to be