Guidance

Compliance checks: The Human Rights Act and penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance — CC/FS45

Updated 23 June 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compliance-checks-the-human-rights-act-and-penalties-for-enablers-of-defeated-tax-avoidance-ccfs45/compliance-checks-the-human-rights-act-and-penalties-for-enablers-of-defeated-tax-avoidance-ccfs45

When we’re considering whether to charge certain types of penalties, Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (HRA) gives you certain rights. This includes penalties for enablers of abusive tax avoidance (enabler penalties).

We’ll ask you to read this factsheet if we’re considering charging you enabler penalties. You can find information about enabler penalties in factsheet CC/FS43, ‘Penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance’.

This factsheet is one of a series. For the full list of factsheets in the series, go to www.gov.uk and search ‘Compliance checks factsheets’.

If you need help

If you have any health or personal circumstances that may make it difficult for you to deal with us, please tell the officer that’s contacted you. We’ll help you in whatever way we can. For more details, go to www.gov.uk and search ‘get help from HMRC if you need extra support’.

You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf, for example, a professional adviser, friend or relative. We may however still need to talk or write to you directly about some things. If we need to write to you, we’ll send a copy of our letter to the person you’ve asked us to deal with. If we need to talk to you, they can be with you when we do, if you prefer.

What your rights under Article 6 mean for you when we’re considering penalties

We always welcome your co-operation when deciding whether to charge you a penalty. And when working out how much that penalty should be. The extent to which you co-operate with us and provide us with information is entirely your choice.

When we’re considering penalties, you have the right under Article 6 not to answer our questions. This is sometimes called the right to not self-incriminate, or the right to silence. This right does not cover information or documents that already exist. This means you must give us information or documents that already exist, if we have a legal right to ask for them.

In deciding how much you’re going to co-operate with us, you have the right to get help from a professional adviser. If you do not already have an adviser, you may want to consider getting one.

You have the right to have the matter of penalties dealt with without unreasonable delay. If we decide to charge you a penalty, we’ll send you a penalty assessment and explain how we’ve worked out the penalty.

If we charge you a penalty, you have the right to ask for a review or the right to appeal. You can find more information about your appeal and review rights online. Go to www.gov.uk and search ‘HMRC1’ or ‘disagree with a tax decision’. You can also ask for a copy by phoning 0300 200 3610.

For more information about tribunals and how to appeal, go to www.gov.uk and search ‘appeal to the tax tribunal’ or phone 0300 123 1024.

You have the right to apply for publicly funded legal assistance or legal aid. In some circumstances, funding may be available to help you bring certain appeals to tribunal. If you’re going to appeal against a penalty assessment, you may want to check whether your case qualifies and what type of help may be available. HMRC do not get involved in decisions about whether your case will qualify. You can find details of where to get information below.

If there’s anything you do not understand about these rights or what they mean for you, please tell the HMRC officer who contacted you about penalties.

You can find out more about funded legal assistance or legal aid in:

  • England and Wales by going to the Civil Legal Advice website – go to www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice or phone 0345 345 4345
  • Scotland by going to the Scottish Legal Aid Board website – go to www.slab.org.uk or phone 0131 226 7061
  • Northern Ireland by contacting a solicitor who’s a member of the Law Society of Northern Ireland – go to www.lawsoc-ni.org

You can also get more details from Citizens Advice, or you can apply for funded legal assistance or legal aid through a solicitor anywhere in the UK.

If you’re unhappy with our service

Tell the person or office you’ve been dealing with. They’ll try to put things right. If you’re still not happy, they’ll tell you how to make a formal complaint.

Our privacy notice

Our privacy notice sets out the standards that you can expect from us when we ask for information or hold information about you. For more information, go to www.gov.uk and search ‘HMRC Privacy Notice’.

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