The importance of acting quickly when facing a tax investigation
Any person or business can be selected for an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) investigation at potentially any time – meaning you never know when an enquiry might be just around the corner.
Being subjected to a tax investigation can be a very stressful experience, particularly as from the very outset, HMRC will usually dictate that you only have between 30 and 35 days to gather together the appropriate information to respond to its initial letter informing you of its impending enquiry.
But if your business has been targeted, it is important to act fast, as HMRC can issue fines if you ignore its tight timeframes for responding to any of its letters once an enquiry has been opened.
In some cases, a full enquiry could take up to 16 months to resolve if you have not taken appropriate advice from your accountant at the earliest possible opportunity in an effort to resolve the matter quickly and with minimum disruption to your day-to-day business activities.
If your business has been targeted, you will most likely be asked to provide the Revenue with details of bank statements, paying-in slips, VAT records, payroll records and more. If your records are kept electronically, evidence of this will also need to be provided – while, under some circumstances, you might also need to attend a meeting with an inspector.
Where possible, you can request that your accountant is present at this meeting, but with any luck our expert team can help you to resolve the matter long before it reaches that stage.
If you are facing an HMRC investigation, get in touch with AGS Accountants and Business Advisors today to find out how we can help. Our team can ensure that investigations are concluded promptly and we also operate a tax investigations insurance scheme to cover the additional fees businesses might incur as a result of such investigations.
