HMRC Investigations Handbook

HMRC Investigations is an increasingly hot topic. With the number of investigations rising year on year, so are the number of individuals or small businesses seeking help from their accountants and/or tax advisers in dealing with the investigations. An affordable and practical guide, HMRC Investigations Handbook 2015/16 will advise you every step of the way through an investigation and how best to represent your clients. Key Updates Updated to the Finance Act (No 2) 2015, including references to announcements in the Summer Budget of 2015, (e.g. closure of Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility on 31 December 2015, and the Government's package of measures to tackle offshore tax evasion). Cases include: Revenue & Customs v Tager (Penalties: Information notices); Fidex Limited v Revenue & Customs (Enquiry closure notices); H A Patel & K Patel (a partnership) v Revenue and Customs (Information notices: 'possession or power') Main Features Written by a range of high profile investigations specialists with insight into how the HMRC carries out their investigations Follows the life-cycle of a typical investigation which allows the reader to quickly find a section they are looking for Focusing on the steps the practitioner needs to take to manage the investigation cost-effectively and in a time efficient way New chapters on Criminal Investigations, Voluntary Disclosures, Complaints and Debt Collection The book brings practitioners up to date with an expanding body of legislation as it applies to enquiry work, and also recent changes in HMRC practice and provides well thought-out and practical advice on how practitioners representing their clients should deal with these.

Table of Contents:
Section 1: Investigations and enquiries Chapter 1 HMRC enquiries: outline and recent developments Chapter 2 Serious civil tax investigations into fraud and avoidance: Code of Practice 9 (Contractual Disclosure Facility) and Code of Practice 8 Chapter 3 Tax fraud: criminal investigations and prosecution - direct tax Chapter 4 Contentious tax planning enquiries Chapter 5 Offshore tax investigations, disclosure campaigns and tax cooperation agreements Section 2: The progress of an enquiry Chapter 6 Practical aspects of an enquiry Chapter 7 Selection for enquiry Chapter 8 Conduct of enquires Chapter 9 Meetings with HMRC Chapter 10 Conduct of a full enquiry Chapter 11 Settlement negotiations Chapter 12 Alternative Dispute Resolution Section 3: Practical issues Chapter 13 Voluntary disclosures Chapter 14 Private records: are they 'private'? 477 Chapter 15 Business record checks and examinations Chapter 16 HMRC's information powers Chapter 17 Preparing reports for HMRC Chapter 18 Penalties for error Chapter 19 Penalties for failure to notify Chapter 20 Tax appeals Chapter 21 Accelerated payment notices and follower notices Chapter 22 Tax debt collection Chapter 23 Complaints about HMRC Section 4: VAT, NIC, employment income Chapter 24 VAT aspects Chapter 25 National Insurance aspects Chapter 26 Employment income

About the Author :
General Editor: Mark McLaughlin Mark McLaughlin is a consultant with his own practice, Mark McLaughlin Associates Ltd

Review :
HMRC Investigations Handbook 2015/16 Edited by Mark McLaughlin of Mark McLaughlin Associates who is well known to all ICPA Members as he is a regular contributor to Accounting Practice and is the man responsible for the quarterly e-magazine "Tax Update". For the purposes of this book Mark has brought together a whole range of writers to contribute on Investigations and it is broken down into 4 sections with Section 1 on Investigations and Enquiries, Section 2 on The Progress of an Enquiry, Section 3 on Practical issues and Section 4 dealing with Vat, Nic and Employment Income. It tries to follow the investigation cycle which helps when you just want to dip and out which at over 700 pages and 26 chapters is how most of us will use this book. To my mind every practice should have a copy of this book as HMRC ramp up the enquiries as they seek to close a tax gap that they themselves calculate and which blames 40%+ as being down to SME's so it's our clients they are looking at to increase their coffers. It is a detailed yet surprising easy to read book covering a huge range of issues and I can't recommend highly enough. -- Tony Margaritelli Accounting Practice Magazine