The Revenue Commissioners have published a new charter of rights for taxpayers including promises that people will be served within ten minutes in their offices, all phone calls will be answered within 30 seconds and any repayments will be paid within ten working days.

The commitments are included among a set of customer service standards, launched yesterday by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.

The chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, Mr Cathal Mac Domhnaill, said the Revenue would continuously measure themselves against the standards and they will be reviewed annually and checked on a sample basis.

The Revenue charter says all officials will attempt to "get calculations right first time, every time" and that any complaints on issues such as delays, mistakes, poor customer service will be addressed within 20 working days.