Guide to Taxpayers’ Rights and HMRC Powers

Guide to Taxpayers’ Rights and HMRC Powers

Guide to Taxpayers' Rights and HMRC Powers, illustrates the growing breadth of HMRC powers which seem to increase every year as successive governments strive to counter tax avoidance and offshore tax evasion.

As this process continues, the rights of taxpayers become less evident and this content clearly lays out what these rights are. It also examines the increasingly complex penalty regime for non-compliance and what steps practitioners can take on behalf of their client to challenge HMRC on any enquiries or decisions.

This update, as always carefully compiled by Robert Maas, takes into account Finance Act 2023, recent case decisions and new/revised guidance from HMRC. The update includes a requirement for advance notification of R&D claims, enhanced transfer pricing record-keeping requirements, a ban on assigning a right to an income tax repayment and a new VAT system of interest and penalties.

Key updates include:

Legislation

• Changes to rules for R&D claims including a requirement for advance notification of new claims (6.214–6.216)
• New transfer pricing record-keeping powers (6.35)
• Prohibition on assignment of a right to an income tax repayment (14.600)
• New VAT rules on interest including repeal of the default surcharge (10.31, 11.43 and 16.30A)
• International arrangements for exchanging information on tax compliance arrangements (enabling power) (14.601)
• Prohibition on making tax repayments to sanctioned persons (14.604)
• Disclosable arrangements regulations (to replace DAC6) (14.309)

Cases

• Upper tribunal decision in Priory London Ltd allowing retrospective penalties (12.172)
• Upper tribunal decision in Cumming-Bruce v HMRC (6.160)

Some interesting FTT decisions

• HMRC v Curtis on purported discovery during the enquiry window (6.32)
• Johnson & Johnson v HMRC on sufficiency of information (6.32)
• One Call Insurance services Ltd v HMRC on possession or power (5.113)
• Quayviews Ltd v HMRC on penalties for filing returns early (12.138)
• HMRC v A Taxpayer on legal professional privilege (5.27)

There are also new tribunal rules on taking evidence from overseas (7.90)