HMRC Tax Enquiry Specialists

An HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tax enquiry can start with a relatively straightforward request for information but develop into a much wider examination of your tax affairs.

GSC Consultancy provides specialist assistance with HMRC tax enquiries and compliance checks for individuals, directors and businesses throughout the UK.

What is an HMRC tax enquiry / compliance check?

HMRC describes a compliance check, sometimes referred to as a tax enquiry, as a check of a person's tax position.

HMRC may examine areas including accounts, tax calculations, Self Assessment returns, Company Tax Returns and PAYE records.

The fact that an enquiry has been opened does not by itself establish that additional tax is due.

What should I do when HMRC contacts me?

The first step should be to understand precisely what HMRC is requesting.

We consider the opening letter, the tax periods involved, the statutory basis of the enquiry and the information requested.

Where appropriate, we can then prepare the response and communicate directly with HMRC.

What GSC Tax Consultancy Can Do for You

An HMRC tax enquiry can range from a relatively straightforward question about a tax return to a detailed investigation covering several years and multiple taxes.

Getting specialist advice at the beginning can help prevent a straightforward enquiry from developing unnecessarily.

GSC Tax Consultancy can:

• review the initial HMRC enquiry letter;
• explain what HMRC is investigating and why;
• identify the statutory basis and scope of the enquiry;
• advise on the information that should be provided to HMRC;
• review HMRC information requests and formal information notices;
• prepare professional responses to HMRC;
• communicate directly with HMRC on your behalf;
• review accounts, tax returns and supporting records;
• identify and quantify any genuine tax exposure;
• challenge incorrect assumptions or conclusions;
• consider HMRC's enquiry and assessment time limits;
• deal with penalty and behavioural allegations;
• attend meetings with HMRC;
• seek closure of the enquiry once the relevant issues have been addressed; and
• manage any subsequent appeal or dispute.

Where HMRC identifies a genuine error, our role is also to establish the correct liability and achieve an appropriate resolution rather than allowing the enquiry to continue unnecessarily.

HMRC information requests

HMRC has extensive information and inspection powers, but those powers are governed by legislation.

An information request should therefore be considered in the context of the particular enquiry rather than automatically assuming that every document requested must be supplied in precisely the form requested.

Some statutory information notices carry rights of appeal, while the position differs for certain categories of records and tribunal-approved notices.

We can advise on both the practical and legal aspects of responding.

When an enquiry becomes a dispute

Sometimes the parties simply interpret the facts or tax legislation differently.

We can prepare technical submissions explaining why HMRC's position should not be accepted and support those submissions with the relevant legislation, HMRC guidance and case law where appropriate.

HMRC's compliance process also provides routes for resolving disagreements, including review, Alternative Dispute Resolution and appeal in appropriate circumstances.

Closing an HMRC enquiry

Our objective is not simply to exchange correspondence indefinitely.

We aim to identify the outstanding issues, provide HMRC with the information necessary to address them and move the enquiry towards a conclusion.

Where HMRC's enquiries have been answered and there is no proper basis for extending the investigation, we can consider the available mechanisms for seeking closure.

Speak to an HMRC enquiry specialist

If HMRC has contacted you about your personal or business tax affairs, we can review the correspondence before you respond.

Contact GSC Consultancy for a confidential discussion about your HMRC tax enquiry.