Have HMRC sent you a letter? 

Informal requests need to be taken seriously, as providing an answer without sufficient consideration could be potentially detrimental to the overall enquiry. Although there is no legal obligation to respond to an informal notice and non compliance will not be subject to penalties, ignoring an informal request ordinarily triggers a subsequent formal notice, losing the opportunity for mutual dialogue with HMRC. A more pragmatic approach in certain circumstances could be to contact the inspector and agree a revised timetable or methodology for the informal request.

On the other hand, HMRC has formal information powers contained within FA 2008 Sch 36, and lately we have noticed a tendency where HMRC have used these powers without first making an informal request. No response and non compliance with a formal notice may be subject to a penalty of up to £300 and additional daily penalties of up to £60 for every day of non compliance.

Under Sch 36 para 1(1), first party notices require the taxpayer to provide information and documents ‘reasonably required by the officer for the purpose of checking the taxpayer’s tax position’. What is ‘reasonably required’ for HMRC to assess a tax position is often a key area of debate with HMRC. We have helped clients appeal successfully against unreasonable formal notices.

If you have received a letter from HMRC and would like to know more about the tax enquiry process or a tax investigation, please contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

We can help you deal with any tax investigation through expert advice and specialist representation. Our team deals with matters ranging from individual tax disputes to large and complex multiple client cases. 

• Formal and Informal Notices
• Compliance Checks
• Penalty Notices
• Discovery Assessments
• Voluntary Disclosures to HMRC
• Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs)
• Code of Practice 8 – CoP 8 Investigations
• Code of Practice 9 – CoP 9 Investigations
• Contractor Loan Schemes and the Loan Charge
• DOTAS/POTAS Inquiries
• PAYE Tax Investigations 

• Corporation Tax Investigations
• IR35 Disputes
• VAT Investigations and Inspections
• HMRC Unannounced Inspections and Visits
• Settlements with HMRC
• Time to Pay Arrangements
• Statutory Reviews
• Forensic Tax Advice
• Tax Litigation Advice
• Corporate Advisory
• Private Client Advisory