The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said that the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes have noticed a sharp decline in the past six months to September 2013.

Quoting a HMRC report, International Adviser reported that there were 30 disclosures in the latest round compared with about 45 a year ago.

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Currently, HMRC figures consists of 17 in the Main Regime for income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax, seven in National Insurance (NI) and six in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).

HMRC figures showed that the fall in 2012 was 27 (Main), less than five (NI), less than five (Inheritance Tax) and eight (SDLT), while during the period from October 2012 to March 2013 the figure was about 47, which broke down as 32 (Main), less than five (NI) and 10 (SDLT).

The disclosure regime was introduced with effect from 1 August 2004 and the number of disclosures has been in the hundreds every six months in the recent years.

The Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules enable the Government to react quickly to close loopholes by changing the law, sometimes within days of the disclosure being made.

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According to HMRC, tax avoidance represents a significant part of the UK tax gap and it allows some taxpayers to gain an unfair advantage, undermining confidence in the tax system.

The DOTAS regime enables HMRC to get early information on the schemes and how they work which is then used to inform legislation and reduce the supply of avoidance schemes and deter promoters and users from using such schemes.