- On 21 July 2020, HMRC issued a policy paper and draft legislation on “Amendments to HMRC’s civil information powers” as part of the Finance Bill 2020-21.
- This proposes to introduce a new Financial Institution Notice (FIN) requiring financial institutions to provide information to HMRC about a specific taxpayer, without the need for approval from the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).
- The information must be ‘reasonably required’ to check the taxpayer’s tax position.
- An authorised officer of HMRC will need to approve the decision to issue a FIN.
- If a Financial Institution fails to comply with a FIN, HMRC have the right to charges penalties. The Financial Institution will be able to appeal to the tribunal against such a penalty.
- Any documents that are subject to legal professional privilege cannot be requested in a Schedule 36 notice.
- HMRC are required to tell the taxpayer why the information is needed, unless a tribunal rules this condition should not apply.
- The measure corrects a drafting error in the Schedule 36 legislation that governs increased daily penalties for failure to comply with an information notice.
- The measure will have effect on and after the date of Royal Assent to Finance Bill 2020-21.
Read the full policy paper here.
Read the draft legislation here.
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https://www.aspirepartnership.co.uk/News/3478/hmrcs-new-civil-powers
