(1) In this Chapter—
“arrangements” includes any agreement, scheme, arrangement or understanding of any kind whether or not legally enforceable involving one or more transactions, and includes a proposal for arrangements;
“authorised officer of Revenue and Customs” means an officer of Revenue and Customs who is, or is a member of a class of officers who are, authorised by the Commissioners for the purpose of this Chapter;
“Commissioners” means the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
“HMRC” means His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
“promotion” has the meaning given in section 160;
“tax advantage” includes—
relief or increased relief from tax,
repayment or increased repayment from tax,
avoidance or reduction of a charge to tax or an assessment to tax,
avoidance of a possible assessment to tax,
deferral of a payment of tax or advancement of a repayment of tax, and
avoidance of an obligation to deduct or account for tax.
(2) Section 159(1) comes into force two months after the day on which this Act is passed.
(1) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may, for the purposes of this Chapter, certify that a person is promoting arrangements—
(a) in breach of section 236B of FA 2014 (effect of stop notices), or
(b) in breach of section 159(1) (prohibition of promotion of certain tax avoidance arrangements).
(2) A certification under subsection (1) must be in writing and include the following—
(a) the name of the person,
(b) a statement to the effect that—
(i) an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs has certified that the person is promoting arrangements as described in subsection (1)(a) or (b), and
(ii) accordingly, the person is a certified promoter for the purposes of this Chapter,
(c) a summary of the officer’s reasons for coming to the conclusion certified, including a description of the arrangements and promotion, and
(d) information about how the person may make representations to HMRC (see subsection (4)(b)).
(3) For the purposes of this Chapter, a “certified promoter” means a person certified under this section.
(4) Before issuing a notice under section 167 (promoter action notice) in respect of a certified promoter, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) provide the certified promoter with a copy of the certification, and
(b) allow the certified promoter 30 days from the date of provision to make representations to HMRC.
(1) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may issue a notice to a person if the officer reasonably suspects that—
(a) the person (the “recipient”) is providing goods or services to a certified promoter (the “target”), and
(b) the goods or services are being procured or used wholly or partly in connection with the promotion of arrangements in respect of which the target is certified.
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter, a “promoter action notice” means a notice issued under subsection (1).
(3) A promoter action notice may, for the purpose of impeding the target’s promotion of the arrangements, require the recipient of the notice to—
(a) stop providing some or all of the goods or services,
(b) provide the goods or services subject to specified conditions, or
(c) take specified steps in relation to the provision of the goods or services.
(4) A promoter action notice must identify the target and specify—
(a) the goods or services in respect of which it is issued,
(b) the requirements applicable under subsection (3), and
(c) the time by which the recipient must comply with the requirements under subsection (3).
(5) A time specified under subsection (4)(c)—
(a) must be the end of—
(i) the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the notice is issued, or
(ii) such longer period as an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs considers appropriate, and
(b) takes precedence over any statutory or regulatory requirement to provide a period of notice before terminating or modifying a contract.
(6) A promoter action notice may not—
(a) require the recipient to monitor or assess whether or how particular goods or services are being procured or used in connection with the promotion or arrangements,
(b) restrict the provision of services that provide access to the internet, or
(c) restrict the provision of legal or auditing services.
(7) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may withdraw a promoter action notice.
(8) The recipient is not liable in damages in respect of anything done, or omitted to be done, in good faith for the purposes of complying with a promoter action notice.
(1) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may issue a notice to a person who the officer reasonably suspects is providing goods or services as described in section 167(1).
(2) A notice under this section must—
(a) identify the target referred to in section 167(1);
(b) give reasons for the suspicion referred to in subsection (1);
(c) allow the recipient of the notice a period of 30 days from the date of the notice to make representations to HMRC.
(3) A notice under this section may request information from the recipient.
(4) A disclosure of information by the recipient in response to a request under subsection (3) does not breach—
(a) any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or
(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).
(5) A person who receives a notice under this section may not disclose the existence or contents of the notice to—
(a) the target identified in the notice, or
(b) any person who might reasonably be expected to disclose the existence or contents of the notice to the target.
(6) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may withdraw a notice under this section.
(1) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may for the purposes of this Chapter disclose—
(a) information relating to the target identified in a promoter action notice to the recipient of the notice, or
(b) information relating to the target identified in a notice issued under section 168 (preliminary notices) to the recipient of the notice.
(2) A person to whom an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs discloses information under this section—
(a) may use it only for the purpose for which it was disclosed, and
(b) may not further disclose it without the consent of HMRC (which may be general or specific).
(3) Where a person contravenes subsection (2)(b) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity—
(a) is specified in the disclosure, or
(b) can be deduced from it,
section 19 of CRCA 2005 (offence of wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to the disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.
(4) Nothing in this section limits the circumstances in which information may be disclosed under section 18(2) of CRCA 2005 or under any other enactment or rule of law.
170 Appeal against a decision to issue a promoter action notice
(1) A recipient of a promoter action notice may appeal to the tribunal against a decision to issue the notice on the grounds that—
(a) the recipient is not providing the goods or services specified in the notice to the target identified in the notice;
(b) the goods or services are not being used wholly or partly in connection with the arrangements referred to in section 167(1).
(2) Notice of an appeal must—
(a) state the ground of appeal, and
(b) be given in writing to HMRC before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the promoter action notice was issued.
(3) The provisions of Part 5 of TMA 1970 relating to appeals have effect in relation to appeals under this section as they have effect in relation to an appeal against an assessment to income tax.
(4) In this section, the “tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under the Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal.
(1) A recipient of a promoter action notice is liable to a penalty if the recipient—
(a) fails to comply with the notice, and
(b) does so without reasonable excuse.
(2) The maximum penalty under this section is £1,000 for each day on which the recipient failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the notice.
(3) Before imposing a penalty under this section, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the recipient of the fact that the authorised officer considers subsection (1) to apply, and
(b) allow the recipient 30 days from the date of notification to make representations to HMRC.
(4) In imposing a penalty under this section, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must have regard to—
(a) the likely cost to the recipient of complying with the notice;
(b) any benefit for the recipient of not complying with the notice;
(c) whether and to what extent the recipient cooperated with HMRC or made efforts to comply with the notice.
(5) A penalty imposed under this section is to be treated as a penalty determined under section 100(1) of TMA 1970.
(6) A penalty imposed under this section is to carry interest in accordance with section 101 of FA 2009.
(7) In paragraph 5(6) of Schedule 13 to FA 2020 (joint and several liability of company directors etc) after paragraph (g) (inserted by section 162(8)) insert—
(h) section 171 of FA 2026 (promoter action notices: penalties).
(1) Subsection (2) applies if—
(a) a penalty under section 171 has been imposed on a recipient of a promoter action notice, and
(b) notice of appeal against the penalty can no longer be given or, if notice has been given, the appeal has been determined or withdrawn.
(2) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may publish—
(a) the recipient’s name (including any trading name, previous name or pseudonym);
(b) any address used by the recipient;
(c) any other information that the authorised officer considers appropriate for the purposes of identifying the recipient or their business;
(d) details of the recipient’s failure to comply;
(e) details of the penalty imposed on the recipient under section 171.
(3) Before publishing information under this section, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the recipient of their intention to publish, including the information that they intend to publish, and—
(b) allow the recipient 30 days from the date of notification to make representations to HMRC.
(4) Information published under this section must be withdrawn no later than 12 months after its publication.
(5) Nothing in this section limits the circumstances in which information may be disclosed under section 18(2) of CRCA 2005 or under any other enactment or rule of law.
(1) This section applies if an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs considers that a recipient of a promoter action notice—
(a) failed to comply with the notice, and
(b) did so without reasonable excuse.
(2) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may, for the permitted purpose, disclose the following information to a regulator, representative body or trade body of the recipient—
(a) the recipient’s name (including any trading name, previous name or pseudonym);
(b) any address used by the recipient;
(c) any other information that the authorised officer considers appropriate for the purposes of identifying the recipient or their business;
(d) details of the recipient’s failure to comply;
(e) details of any penalty imposed on the recipient under section 171;
(f) any other information that the authorised officer considers appropriate for the permitted purpose.
(3) In this section, the “permitted purpose” means assisting the person to whom the information is disclosed in relation to—
(a) a current or future investigation into the failure referred to in subsection (1), or
(b) any other action taken, or to be taken, by the person in relation to that failure.
(4) Before disclosing information under this section, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the recipient of their intention to disclose it, including—
(i) their reasons for considering that subsection (1) applies, and
(ii) the information that they intend to disclose, and
(b) allow the recipient 30 days from the date of notification to—
(i) comply with any requirements specified in the promoter action notice, or
(ii) make representations to HMRC.
(5) A person to whom an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs discloses information under this section—
(a) may use it only for the purpose for which it was disclosed, and
(b) may not further disclose it without the consent of HMRC (which may be general or specific).
(6) Where a person contravenes subsection (5)(b) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity—
(a) is specified in the disclosure, or
(b) can be deduced from it,
section 19 of CRCA 2005 (offence of wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to the disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.
(7) Nothing in this section limits the circumstances in which information may be disclosed under section 18(2) of CRCA 2005 or under any other enactment or rule of law.
For the purposes of sections 171 and 173, a failure of a person to do anything within a limited period of time is to be disregarded if the person did the thing within such further period of time, if any, as an officer of Revenue and Customs allowed.
For the purposes of sections 171 and 173—
(a) an insufficiency of funds is not a reasonable excuse unless attributable to events outside the person’s control,
(b) if the person relies on any other person to do anything, that is not a reasonable excuse unless the first person took reasonable care to avoid the failure,
(c) if the person had a reasonable excuse for the failure but the excuse has ceased, the person is to be treated as having continued to have the excuse if the failure is remedied without unreasonable delay after the excuse ceased, and
(d) reliance on legal advice is to be taken automatically not to constitute a reasonable excuse if either—
(i) the advice was not based on a full and accurate description of the facts, or
(ii) the conclusions in the advice that the person relied upon were unreasonable.
In this Chapter—
“arrangements” includes any agreement, scheme, arrangement or understanding of any kind whether or not legally enforceable involving one or more transactions, and includes a proposal for arrangements;
“authorised officer of Revenue and Customs” means an officer of Revenue and Customs who is, or is a member of a class of officers who are, authorised by the Commissioners for the purpose of this Chapter;
“certified promoter” has the meaning given in section 166(3);
“Commissioners” means the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Revenue;
“HMRC” means His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
“promoter action notice” has the meaning given in section 167(2);
“promotion” has the meaning it has in section 236B(1) of FA 2014 (effect of stop notices) or section 159 (prohibition of promotion of certain tax avoidance arrangements) (as the context requires).
(1) In this Chapter, a “connected person” means a person who an officer of Revenue and Customs reasonably suspects is or has been—
(a) contravening an anti-avoidance enactment,
(b) connected to a person who is or has been contravening an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(c) connected to arrangements by reference to which a person is or has been contravening an anti-avoidance enactment.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), two persons (“A” and “B”) are connected if—
(a) A is a director, manager, secretary or other officer or employee of B,
(b) A is a member of, or partner in, B,
(c) A is a trustee, settlor, beneficiary or administrator of a trust in respect of which B is a trustee, settlor, beneficiary or administrator, or
(d) A is accustomed to acting in accordance with B’s directions or instructions.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), a person is connected to arrangements if the person is—
(a) to any extent involved in making the arrangements available for implementation by another person,
(b) to any extent involved in the organisation or management of the arrangements, or
(c) directly or indirectly benefiting from the arrangements.
(1) In this Chapter, an “anti-avoidance enactment” means—
(a) Part 7 of FA 2004 (disclosure of tax avoidance schemes);
(b) Part 5 of FA 2014 (promoters of tax avoidance schemes);
(c) Schedule 16 to F(No.2)A 2017 (penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance);
(d) Schedule 17 to F(No.2)A 2017 (disclosure of tax avoidance schemes: VAT and other indirect taxes);
(e) Chapter 1 of this Part (prohibition on promotion of certain tax avoidance arrangements).
(2) And a reference to taking action under an anti-avoidance enactment includes a reference to taking action under—
(a) sections 8ZF and 8ZG of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (disqualification for promoting tax avoidance);
(b) Schedule 13 to FA 2020 (joint and several liability);
(c) section 85 of FA 2022 (winding up petitions by an officer of HMRC);
(d) section 86 of FA 2022 (publication by HMRC of information about tax avoidance schemes);
(e) sections 87, 88 and 89 of FA 2022 (freezing orders etc);
(f) Schedule 13 to FA 2022 (penalties for facilitating avoidance schemes involving non-resident promoters);
(g) Chapter 2 of this Part (promoter action notices).
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice require a connected person to provide information that is, in the opinion of the officer, reasonably required for the purposes of—
(a) monitoring the compliance of the connected person with an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(b) HMRC taking, or considering whether HMRC could take, action against the connected person under an anti-avoidance enactment.
(2) An officer of Revenue and Customs may seek the approval of the tribunal before issuing a notice under this section.
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice require a person to provide information that is, in the opinion of the officer, reasonably required for the purposes of—
(a) monitoring the compliance of a connected person with an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(b) HMRC taking, or considering whether HMRC could take, action against a connected person under an anti-avoidance enactment.
(2) A notice under this section must identify the connected person to whom it relates.
(3) Before issuing a notice under this section, an officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the intended recipient of—
(i) the officer’s intention to issue the notice, and
(ii) the information that would be required under the notice, and
(b) allow the intended recipient reasonable opportunity to make representations to HMRC.
(4) An officer of Revenue and Customs may not issue a notice under this section without either—
(a) the agreement of the connected person identified in the notice, or
(b) the approval of the tribunal.
(5) The tribunal may not approve a notice unless it has been given a summary of any representations made under subsection (3)(b).
(6) After issuing a notice under this section, an officer of Revenue and Customs must provide to the connected person identified in the notice—
(a) a copy of the notice, and
(b) a summary of the officer’s reasons for requiring the information.
(7) Subsections (2), (3) and (6) do not apply to the extent the tribunal is satisfied that taking the steps in those subsections might prejudice the investigation of tax avoidance.
181 Information notices: unidentified connected persons
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice require a person to provide information that is, in the opinion of the officer, reasonably required for the purposes of—
(a) monitoring the compliance of an unidentified connected person with an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(b) HMRC taking, or considering whether HMRC could take, action against an unidentified connected person under an anti-avoidance enactment.
(2) In this section, “unidentified connected person” means—
(a) a connected person whose identity is not known to the officer, or
(b) a class of persons whose individual identities are not known to the officer but, of which, one or more members is a connected person.
(3) A notice under this section may only require information that is not readily available from another source.
(4) An officer of Revenue and Customs may not issue a notice under this section without the approval of the tribunal.
(5) In subsection (1)(b), the reference to taking action against an unidentified connected person includes a reference to taking action against one or more members of a class referred to in subsection (2)(b).
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice require a person to provide identifying information that is, in the opinion of the officer, reasonably required for the purpose of identifying an unidentified connected person.
(2) An officer of Revenue and Customs may not issue a notice under subsection (1) unless the officer has reason to believe that—
(a) the intended recipient of the notice could identify the unidentified connected person by reference to information provided by the officer, and
(b) the recipient obtained the identifying information in the course of a business.
(3) A notice under this section may only require information that is not readily available from another source.
(4) In this section—
“identifying information” means one or more of an unidentified connected person’s—
name;
last known address;
in the case of an individual, date of birth;
“unidentified connected person” has the meaning given in section 181.
(5) An officer of Revenue and Customs who is not an authorised officer may not issue a notice under this section without the approval of either—
(a) the tribunal, or
(b) an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs.
(6) An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may seek the approval of the tribunal before issuing a notice under this section.
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice require a financial institution to provide information that is, in the opinion of the officer, reasonably required for the purposes of—
(a) monitoring the compliance of a connected person with an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(b) HMRC taking, or considering whether HMRC could take, action against a connected person under an anti-avoidance enactment.
(2) A notice under this section must identify the connected person to whom it relates.
(3) An officer of Revenue and Customs may not issue a notice under this section without the approval of the tribunal.
(4) After issuing a notice under this section, an officer of Revenue and Customs must provide to the connected person identified in the notice—
(a) a copy of the notice, and
(b) a summary of the officer’s reasons for requiring the information.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to the extent the tribunal is satisfied that taking the steps in that subsection might prejudice the investigation of tax avoidance.
(6) In this section—
“financial institution” means—
a financial institution under the CRS other than one which is such an institution only because it is an investment entity within section 8(A)(6)(b) of the CRS;
a person who issues credit cards;
“CRS” means the common reporting standard for automatic exchange of financial account information developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as that standard has effect from time to time.
(1) An information notice must specify (or, in the case of paragraphs (a) and (b), describe)—
(a) the information that the recipient is required to provide;
(b) the form in which, and the means by which, the information is to be provided;
(c) a reasonable period within which the information is to be provided;
(d) the provision under which the notice is issued;
(e) whether the notice is issued with the approval of the tribunal.
(2) An information notice issued under sections 180 to 183 may only require information that would not, in the reasonable opinion of an officer of Revenue and Customs, be unduly onerous for the recipient to provide.
(3) An information notice may not require a person to produce a document if the whole of the document originates more than 6 years before the date of the notice without the agreement of an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs.
(4) An information notice may be issued to a person outside the United Kingdom.
(1) An information notice may require the recipient not to disclose the existence or contents of the notice to—
(a) the connected person to whom the notice relates,
(b) in the case of a notice under section 181, members of the class of persons to which the notice relates,
(c) any person who might reasonably be expected to disclose the existence or contents of the notice to the connected person or members of the class, or
(d) any other person.
(2) A requirement under subsection (1)(d) may not prohibit disclosure for, or in connection with, the purpose of—
(a) complying with the notice, or
(b) seeking legal advice.
(3) A requirement imposed under subsection (1) has effect until the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the notice is issued, unless before the end of that period—
(a) the requirement is withdrawn in accordance with subsection (4), or
(b) the period is extended in accordance with subsection (5).
(4) An officer of Revenue and Customs may withdraw the requirement by notifying the recipient in writing.
(5) An officer of Revenue and Customs may by notice to the recipient—
(a) extend the period during which a requirement imposed under subsection (1) has effect by a period of 12 months beginning with the day after the last day of the previous period of 12 months, and
(b) do so on one or more occasions.
(6) An officer of Revenue and Customs may not issue a notice under subsection (5) unless—
(a) the officer considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that failure to extend the period might prejudice the investigation of tax avoidance, and
(b) where the officer is not an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs, an authorised officer agrees with the officer’s—
(i) decision to extend the period, and
(ii) assessment under paragraph (a).
(1) An information notice does not require a person to provide information that is not in the possession or power of that person.
(2) An information notice does not require a person to provide—
(a) information that relates to the conduct of a pending tax appeal or appeal against a decision under an anti-avoidance enactment;
(b) personal records (as defined in section 12 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) or information contained in such records, except that a notice may require a person to produce a redacted version of a document omitting any information that would otherwise make it personal records;
(c) journalistic material (as defined in section 13 of that Act) or information contained in such material;
(d) information in respect of a which a claim to legal professional privilege or, (in Scotland) to confidentiality of communications as between a client and professional legal advisor, could be maintained by the person in legal proceedings.
(3) An information notice does not require a person who has been appointed auditor for the purposes of an enactment to provide information held or created in connection with the performance of the person’s functions under the enactment, other than information that the recipient of the notice has assisted any client in preparing for, or delivering to, HMRC.
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to—
(a) a notice under section 182 (identification), or
(b) identifying information (within the meaning given in section 182) required by a notice under section 181 in respect of—
(i) the connected person to whom the notice relates, or
(ii) a person who has acted on behalf of the connected person.
(5) The Commissioners may by regulations make provision for the resolution by the tribunal of disputes as to whether any information falls within subsection (2)(d) (privilege).
(6) Regulations under subsection (5) are to be made by statutory instrument and a statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (5) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.
(1) An application to the tribunal for approval of a notice, or disapplication of requirements, under this Chapter may be made without notice.
(2) An officer of Revenue and Customs (other than an authorised officer) may not seek the approval of, or disapplication of requirements by, the tribunal without the agreement of an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs.
(3) The tribunal may not approve the issue of a notice under sections 179 to 183 unless it is satisfied that the requirements of the relevant section are met.
(4) A decision of the tribunal is final (despite sections 11 and 13 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007).
(1) A recipient of an information notice commits an offence if the recipient—
(a) fails to comply with the notice, or
(b) in purporting to comply with the notice, carelessly or deliberately provides inaccurate information.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1)(a) to show that they had a reasonable excuse.
(3) In this section, a reference to carelessness is a reference to a failure to take reasonable care.
(4) This section does not apply in respect of a notice under section 183 (financial institutions).
(1) A recipient of an information notice commits an offence if the recipient conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of information that is required to be provided under the notice.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to show that they concealed, destroyed or otherwise disposed of the information only after the information had been provided in accordance with the notice.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where an officer of Revenue and Customs had notified the person in writing that the information must continue to be available (and had not withdrawn that notification).
(4) A person commits an offence if—
(a) an officer of Revenue and Customs has notified the person under section 180(3) that—
(i) the officer intends to issue an information notice to the person, and
(ii) certain information would be required under the notice, and
(b) the person conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of the information.
(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (4) to show that they concealed, destroyed or otherwise disposed of the information only—
(a) after the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which they were last notified under section 180(3) in respect of the information, or
(b) after an information notice has been issued to the person in respect of the information.
(6) In this section, a reference to concealing, destroying or otherwise disposing of information includes a reference to arranging for the concealment, destruction or disposal of information.
(7) This section does not apply in respect of a notice under section 183 (financial institutions).
(1) If an offence under section 189 or 190 is committed by a body corporate or a partnership and—
(a) is committed with the consent or connivance of a responsible person, or
(b) is attributable to the neglect of a responsible person,
the responsible person commits the offence (as well as the body or partnership).
(2) A “responsible person” means—
(a) in relation to a body corporate other than one whose affairs are managed by its members—
(i) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in such a capacity, or
(ii) a shadow director within the meaning given in section 251 of the Companies Act 2006;
(b) in relation to a limited liability partnership or other body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members—
(i) a member exercising management functions, or purporting to do so, or
(ii) in the case of a limited liability partnership, a shadow member;
(c) in relation to a partnership, a partner or a person purporting to act in that capacity.
(3) In this section, a “shadow member” means a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the members of the limited liability partnership are accustomed to act, save that a person is not a shadow member by reason only of the fact that the members act on advice given by that person in a professional capacity.
192 Criminal liability of responsible persons: no prosecution of recipient
(1) Subsection (2) applies where a body corporate or partnership that is the recipient of an information notice—
(a) fails to comply with the notice, or
(b) in purporting to comply with the notice, carelessly or deliberately provides inaccurate information.
(2) If the recipient’s failure or careless or deliberate provision of inaccurate information—
(a) occurred with the consent or connivance of a responsible person, or
(b) is attributable to the neglect of a responsible person,
the responsible person commits an offence.
(3) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (2) to show that they or the recipient had a reasonable excuse.
(4) In this section—
(a) a reference to carelessness is a reference to a failure to take reasonable care, and
(b) “responsible person” has the same meaning as in section 191.
(5) This section does not apply in respect of a notice under section 183 (financial institutions).
A person who commits an offence under section 189, 190 or 192 is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to—
(i) in England and Wales, a fine, or
(ii) in Scotland or Northern Ireland, a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or both.
(1) A recipient of an information notice is liable to a penalty if the recipient—
(a) fails to comply with the notice, and
(b) does so without reasonable excuse.
(2) The penalty under subsection (1) is—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), £300;
(b) otherwise, £5,000.
(3) If a failure referred to in subsection (1) continues after the day on which a penalty is imposed in respect of it, the recipient is liable to a further penalty for each day on which the failure continues.
(4) The penalty under subsection (3) is—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), an amount not exceeding £60;
(b) otherwise, an amount not exceeding £1,000.
(5) Before imposing a penalty under this section, an officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the recipient of the fact that the officer considers subsection (1) or (3) to apply, and
(b) allow the recipient a period of 30 days beginning with the date of notification to make representations to HMRC.
(6) This section does not apply in relation to a failure to comply with a requirement imposed under section 185 (restriction on disclosure of notices).
(1) A recipient of an information notice is liable to a penalty if the recipient—
(a) is required to provide information under the notice issued, and
(b) conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of the information—
(i) before the information has been provided in accordance with the notice, or
(ii) in circumstances where an officer of Revenue and Customs has notified the person in writing that the information must continue to be available (and has not withdrawn that notification).
(2) A person is liable to a penalty if—
(a) an officer of Revenue and Customs has notified the person under section 180(3) that—
(i) the officer intends to issue an information notice to the person, and
(ii) certain information would be required under the notice, and
(b) the person conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of the information.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the person concealed, destroyed or otherwise disposed of the information only—
(a) after the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which they were last notified under section 180(3) in respect of the information, or
(b) after an information notice has been issued to the person in respect of the information.
(4) The penalty under subsection (1) or (2) is—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), £300, or
(b) otherwise, £20,000.
(5) In this section, a reference to concealing, destroying or otherwise disposing of information includes a reference to arranging for the concealment, destruction or disposal of information.
(1) A recipient of an information notice is liable to a penalty if the recipient—
(a) in purporting to comply with the notice, carelessly or deliberately provides inaccurate information, or
(b) after purporting to comply with the notice—
(i) discovers that, in doing so, they provided inaccurate information, and
(ii) does not take reasonable steps to notify HMRC of that fact.
(2) The maximum penalty under subsection (1) is—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), £3,000 for each inaccuracy, or
(b) otherwise, £20,000 for each inaccuracy.
(3) Before imposing a penalty under this section, an officer of Revenue and Customs must—
(a) notify the recipient of the fact that the officer considers subsection (1) to apply, and
(b) allow the recipient a period of 30 days beginning with the date of notification to make representations to HMRC.
(4) In this section, a reference to carelessness is a reference to a failure to take reasonable care.
(1) A recipient of an information notice is liable to a penalty if the recipient—
(a) fails to comply with a requirement imposed under section 185 (restriction on disclosure of notices), and
(b) does so without reasonable excuse.
(2) The penalty under subsection (1) is—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), £1,000, or
(b) otherwise, £10,000.
(1) Subsection (3) applies if—
(a) a penalty has been imposed on a person under section 194(1) for failure to comply with a notice,
(b) the person, without reasonable excuse, continues to fail to comply with the notice,
(c) an officer of Revenue and Customs has reason to believe that—
(i) the person received money or money’s worth in connection with the contravening arrangements to which the notice relates, and
(ii) the continuing failure is significant, and
(d) the Upper Tribunal decides that it is appropriate for a penalty to be imposed under this section.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c)(ii), a continuing failure is significant if—
(a) it continues beyond the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which the penalty referred to in subsection (1)(a) was imposed, or
(b) as a result of the continuing failure, it is or is likely to be significantly more difficult for HMRC to—
(i) monitor the compliance of a connected person with an anti-avoidance enactment, or
(ii) take, or consider whether HMRC could take, action against a connected person under an anti-avoidance enactment.
(3) The person is liable to a penalty equal to the amount of money or money’s worth received, or likely to have been received, by the person in connection with the contravening arrangements to which the notice relates.
(4) The amount of a penalty to which a person is liable under subsection (3) must be determined by the Upper Tribunal (with such determination being treated as assessment).
(5) An application to the Tribunal for the purposes of subsection (1)(d) or (4) may be made by an officer of Revenue and Customs and must be made before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with—
(a) in the case of a penalty relating to a notice against which the recipient may appeal under section 204, the latest of—
(i) the day on which the person became liable to a penalty under section 194(1),
(ii) the last day of the period in which notice of appeal against the notice could have been given, and
(iii) if notice of such an appeal has been given, the day on which the appeal is determined or withdrawn, or
(b) in any other case, the day on which the person became liable to a penalty under section 194(1).
(6) An officer of Revenue and Customs who makes an application for the purposes of subsection (1)(d) or (4) must notify the person concerned.
(7) For the purposes of this section, a reference to contravening arrangements to which a notice relates is a reference to arrangements by reference to which the person to whom the notice relates is considered to be a connected person under section 177(1) (including, where the person is a connected person under section 177(1)(b), arrangements by reference to which the other person is considered to be a connected person).
(8) This section does not apply in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions).
(1) An officer of Revenue and Customs may apply to the tribunal for a determination that an increased penalty should be available under section 194(4) in respect of a person’s failure to comply with an information notice if—
(a) a penalty has been imposed under section 194(3) (daily penalties for continuing failure) in respect of the failure,
(b) the failure continues after the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which notification of the penalty under section 194(3) was issued (see paragraph 46 to Schedule 36 to FA 2008), and
(c) the officer has notified the person of their intention to apply to the tribunal under this section.
(2) If the tribunal decides that an increased penalty should be available under section 194(4) in respect of a person’s failure, the tribunal must determine—
(a) the amount of the increased penalty, and
(b) the day from which it is to be applicable.
(3) The increased penalty is available under section 194(4) in respect of the failure—
(a) from the day determined by the tribunal, and
(b) as though the figure in that subsection were replaced with the amount of the increased penalty.
(4) An increased penalty under this section may not exceed—
(a) in relation to a notice under section 183 (financial institutions), £1,000, or
(b) otherwise, £5,000.
(5) In determining the amount of the increased penalty, the tribunal must have regard to—
(a) the likely cost to the person of complying with the notice,
(b) any benefits to the person of not complying with the notice, and
(c) any benefits to anyone else resulting from the person’s non-compliance.
(6) If the tribunal makes a determination under subsection (2), an officer of Revenue and Customs must notify the person to whom it relates of—
(a) the amount of the increased penalty, and
(b) the day from which it is to be applicable.
For the purposes of sections 189 to 199(sanctions), a failure of a person to do anything within a limited period of time is to be disregarded if the person did the thing within such further period of time, if any, as an officer of Revenue and Customs or the tribunal allowed.
For the purposes of sections 189(1)(a) (offence of failing to comply), 192 (criminal liability of responsible persons: no prosecution of recipient), 194 (penalty for failing to comply), 197 (penalty for disclosing) and 198 (penalty based on monies received)—
(a) an insufficiency of funds is not a reasonable excuse unless attributable to events outside the person’s control,
(b) if the person relies on any other person to do anything, that is not a reasonable excuse unless the first person took reasonable care to avoid the failure,
(c) if the person had a reasonable excuse for the failure but the excuse has ceased, the person is to be treated as having continued to have the excuse if the failure is remedied without unreasonable delay after the excuse ceased, and
(d) reliance on legal advice is to be taken automatically not to constitute a reasonable excuse if either—
(i) the advice was not based on a full and accurate description of the facts, or
(ii) the conclusions in the advice that the person relied upon were unreasonable.
203 Assessment etc of penalties: application of Schedule 36 to FA 2008
(1) The following paragraphs of Schedule 36 to FA 2008 apply as set out below.
(2) Paragraph 46 (assessment of penalty) applies to—
(a) a penalty under sections 194 (failure to comply) and 195 (concealing information) as it applies to a penalty under paragraphs 39 and 40 of the Schedule;
(b) a penalty under section 196 (inaccurate information) as it applies to a penalty under paragraph 40A of the Schedule.
(3) Paragraph 51B(2) and (3) (assessment of a penalty for disclosure) apply to a penalty under section 197 (disclosure of a notice) as they apply to a penalty under paragraph 51B(1) of the Schedule.
(4) Paragraph 49 (enforcement of penalty) applies to a penalty under sections 194 to 197 as it applies to a penalty under paragraphs 39, 40 and 40A of the Schedule and, in the case of a penalty under section 197 (disclosure of a notice), the reference to notification under paragraph 46 of the Schedule is to be read as a reference to notification under paragraph 51B(2)(b) of the Schedule).
(5) Paragraph 51 (enforcement of a tax-related penalty) applies to a penalty under section 198 (penalties based on monies received) as it applies to a penalty under paragraph 50 of the Schedule.
(1) A recipient of a notice under section 179 (connected persons) may appeal against the issue of the notice or any requirement in the notice.
(2) A recipient of a notice under section 180 (third parties) may appeal against the issue of the notice or any requirement in the notice on the grounds that it would be unduly onerous to comply with the notice or requirement.
(3) A recipient of a notice under section 182 (identification) may appeal against the issue of the notice or any requirement in the notice on the grounds that it would be unduly onerous to comply with the notice or requirement.
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply in relation to a notice that was issued with tribunal approval.
(5) Paragraph 32 of Schedule 36 to FA 2008 applies to appeals under this section as it applies to appeals under Part 5 of that Schedule (and references to information notices are to be read as references to notices under this Chapter).