AHP3200 - Finding avoidance: Consistency

HMRC is committed to ensuring consistency of outcomes across cases that include avoidance risks. This applies to users of mass marketed avoidance schemes as well as to bespoke avoidance arrangements, including cases that may initially seem to involve arrangements designed for a particular customer. This is because it is likely that if an adviser considers that arrangements designed for a particular client have the desired effect, they may be adapted for use by other clients. This ensures a fairness of treatment across taxpayers.

All avoidance must have a handling strategy agreed by the relevant policy owner as AAB’s delegated authority before any operational work is started, with the exception of undisclosed cases. Disclosure requirements under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime enables HMRC to get early information about how a scheme is said to work and find out who has used it. This allows avoidance risks to be quickly brought to the AAB to agree an appropriate handling strategy. Where schemes are not disclosed under the DOTAS regime, operational work should begin quickly, to enable information to be gathered about how the scheme is designed and who has used it, ahead of a handling strategy being agreed by the relevant policy team.

To ensure consistency AAB retains oversight of all handling strategy decisions for new risks via a regular summary prepared by AAB Secretariat.

If you identify avoidance or receive intelligence that may be indicative of avoidance you must refer it to AAB Secretariat who will liaise with stakeholders to consider the arrangements, and to develop a handling strategy if appropriate.