For those investigations into large businesses that completed in 2024–25, it took HMRC 17 months on average to close each case. This is down from 35 months for the cases that closed in 2021–22, during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the small proportion of cases where businesses choose to litigate (7% of cases in 2024–25), the average 21 Q 23 22 Q 25-28 23 Q 23, 66 24 Qq 66-70 10 duration is much longer, standing at 97 months in 2024–25, up from 57 months in 2019–20. HMRC has less influence over the pace of cases that go to litigation as progress is partly reliant on the court system. For 2025–26, HMRC set a goal to conclude 85% of all investigations within 18 months.25