Scotland’s most senior civil servant has quit his post to become permanent secretary and chief executive at HM Revenue and Customs.

John-Paul (JP) Marks is departing as the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government after just under three years service in the role.

The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, announced that Marks – who spoke at Futurescot’s Digital Scotland event last month – would replace Sir Jim Harra this afternoon as part of efforts to transform the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority.

Sir Chris Wormald, the recently installed successor to Simon Case as permanent secretary in Number 10, said: “I would like to congratulate JP on his appointment. He brings vast experience to the role from his time as Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Government and from earlier Director General roles at DWP. JP is excellently placed to continue the transformation of HMRC, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s Plan for Change and improving the experiences of taxpayers and businesses across the whole of the UK.

“I would like to thank Sir Jim Harra for his leadership of HMRC over the last five years and for his many years of dedicated public service.”

JP Marks said: “It is a privilege to be appointed to lead HMRC. I look forward to supporting the department’s vital work to collect the revenues which fund public services, and to working with the board, colleagues and partners in the years ahead to deliver service modernisation and reform.

“I am grateful to the First Minister and his predecessors for the opportunity to serve as permanent secretary. I would like to pay tribute to the civil servants across the Scottish Government and thank our teams and partners for their leadership, professionalism and support. Over the next few months, I, along with my executive team, remain firmly focused on supporting the First Minister and delivering his programme for government.”

James Murray, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “I am delighted JP has been chosen as HMRC’s new permanent secretary and I look forward to working with him on developing a strategy for HMRC which progresses the government’s priorities for HMRC to reduce the tax gap, modernise and reform the tax system and improve customer service.

“I want to add my thanks to Sir Jim Harra for his years of public service and wish him all the very best for the future.”

The appointment follows an external recruitment competition overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission. The process to recruit JP’s successor will commence shortly.