Revenue & Customs' real-time IT system to launch by April 2012

With other plans for the systems mapped out to 2015

HMRC's real-time system to be launched in April 2012

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced a timeline for the launch of the IT infrastructure that will analyse Paye As You Earn (PAYE) and the proposed Universal Credits system in real time.

The system should be up and running by April 2012.

The proposal is central to HMRC's Business Plan for 2012-15 in which it has pledged to "transform PAYE through the use of real-time information (RTI) in order to bring service improvements to employers and taxpayers".

The department's detailed timetable involves: developing and publishing high level specifications for software developers by the end of this month, consulting on detailed proposals to introduce real-time information between this month and February next year, developing and launching a test service for software developers between April next year and November 2011 and putting an IT infrastructure for RTI into place between November 2010 and April 2012.

Milestones in the plan include publishing RTI consultation documents and software specifications this month and launching the IT infrastructure for RTI in April 2012.