ATCS04560 - Advance Tax Certainty Service: Process: Scoping meeting and evaluation: Timelines and communication
Where possible, HMRC will aim to have agreed a timeline with the customer during the scoping and planning meeting. Timelines will be tailored to the specific facts of each case, considering:
- the timing of any investment decisions
- the number and complexity of questions raised
- the volume of additional information required and the timing of its provision
HMRC will ordinarily hold a scoping meeting within 30 calendar days of receipt of the application, and will ordinarily aim to issue a clearance within 60 calendar days of the scoping meeting or 90 calendar days from receipt of a complete application (i.e. where all information required for HMRC to reach a view has been received). This is subject to agreement with the customer and the factors referred to above.
HMRC aim to complete reviews as quickly as possible. Providing a clear application with full disclosure and all relevant information helps HMRC to achieve this aim and provide certainty to customers. If HMRC needs to wait for additional information, this is likely to extend the process.
The Advance Tax Certainty Service team will provide regular progress updates against agreed timelines and any factors impacting those timelines. In the event the clearance consideration raises particularly complex issues that were not foreseen during earlier scoping and planning discussions, HMRC will aim to contact the customer within 14 working days to discuss a revised due date. Customers should similarly contact HMRC if they need to revise their due dates.
In the event that a revised and extended timeline may go beyond the filing date for a return including the area on which certainty is being sought, the Advance Tax Certainty Service will work with the CCM or tCCM to ensure that a technical conclusion can be reached and applied consistently in reviewing the tax return where critical assumptions remain valid.