Criticism of the Swedish Tax Agency for its passive processing of an estate inventory case, and a statement concerning the agency’s processing of such cases in general

Summary of the decision: In an estate inventory case being dealt with by the Swedish Tax Agency, there was no registered estate inventory despite the fact that over three and a half years had passed since the death. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman criticises the agency for its passive processing.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman has previously criticised the Swedish Tax Agency for the excessive queue time from when an estate inventory is submitted until a case officer is assigned to the case. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman is of the opinion that queue times are still too long and he underlines the importance of the agency maintaining its efforts to reduce the processing time, and of continuously following up and evaluating progress.

During previous reviews, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman found that the Swedish Tax Agency rarely takes any effective measures in cases where no estate inventory is submitted, and urged the agency to review its procedures. Despite the passing of almost two years, the agency has failed to complete the review of procedures. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman finds this remarkable and states that the necessary changes to improve the efficiency of the Swedish Tax Agency’s work to obtain estate inventories must be implemented as soon as possible and as a matter of urgency.