News item | 05-07-2023 | 5:45 pm
The first part of the KPMG investigation into the former Combiteam Aanpak Facilitators (CAF) was sent to the House of Representatives today. The CAF team was set up in 2013 to investigate signs of possible fraud at so-called intermediaries such as tax advisors. In January 2021, the CAF team has been permanently discontinued. This first report discusses how the team worked in general, how it was positioned within the Tax and Customs Administration and with what assignment the team worked. KPMG is also working on a second sub-study into the working method within the CAF cases. After this second study, which is expected at the end of 2023, final conclusions can be drawn.
Informal working method
This first sub-investigation shows that the role of the CAF team was formally limited to investigating the signals supplied. The team then passed on its findings and any advice to the relevant department where the follow-up took place. In addition, the investigation shows that the management at the time was widely familiar with the activities of the CAF team. At the same time, much official documentation is missing, including on establishment and guidance. This means that the traceability of decisions and discussions about the activities of the CAF is limited.
This creates the image of a relatively informal organizational structure, with little formal documentation. It is not desirable that a team with these specific tasks had such an informal embedding in the organization, and of which the traceability of decision-making and management of the team seemed to be limited. These are also conclusions that emerged earlier from the Borstlap-Joustra Committee about the culture at the Tax and Customs Administration in general during this period.
Management
The research also shows that during the period that the CAF team was active, the then service management had a strong focus on the team’s (to be booked) results and the prevention of fraud. The research also shows the assignment to work experimentally, as long as the experiments were known and coordinated with the management at the time. An explicit order was given to push the boundaries.
It is not yet clear how this method has been applied. When reviewing the CAF files in the second part of the investigation, more clarity should be gained about the way in which the CAF team actually carried out work.
CAF Affairs and CAF Surcharges
This sub-study focuses on the working methods of the CAF team within the former Tax and Customs Administration. There is a difference between the CAF team itself and the allowance related cases which are also referred to as CAF cases. “CAF affairs” is the term used by a number of departments within the former Tax and Customs Administration when it was decided to further investigate signals from the CAF team. Within Supplements, all investigations initiated were initially documented with a reference to the word “CAF”. However, the CAF team was not involved in all studies with this CAF feature of Surcharges.