The requirements that must be met for a discovery assessment to be made by an HMRC officer.
KEY POINTS
- Are new attempts being made to curb HMRC’s enthusiasm for discovery assessments?
- TMA 1970 s 29 must balance the need to make further assessments and the taxpayer’s protection against indefinite liability.
- Is there an insufficiency that the officer could not have been aware of on the basis of the available information?
- Should the officer be expected to be aware of all the information that HMRC have?
- The officer must be assumed to have the level of knowledge and understanding that would reasonably be expected.
Even the most adroit tax advisers have clients who have done a spot of tax-planning of their own perhaps with the assistance of avoidance scheme promoters. Some are involved in structures devoid of legal or other merit. Contractors’ offshore loan...