CH23530 - Information & Inspection Powers: Information Notices: Taxpayer Notice: Specific rules: Stamp duty land tax

A ‘taxpayer notice’ is a written notice to a person requiring them to provide information or produce documents reasonably required to check their tax position. For the use of first and third party information powers to check the tax position of one or more partners at the same time, see CH225600.

Various rules and conditions have to be met before you can give a written taxpayer notice to a person requiring them to provide information or produce documents reasonably required to check their stamp duty land tax position.

The general restrictions, see CH22100, general rules, see CH23220, and rules about approval and appeals in CH23520, apply. There are also specific rules for taxpayer notices following stamp duty land tax returns.

If a person has made a stamp duty land tax return, claim or amendment of a claim for a chargeable period, you can only give a taxpayer notice to check the person’s stamp duty land tax for that period if one or more of the four following conditions apply

  • a) there is an open enquiry into the return, claim or amendment to a claim, or
  • b) you have reason to suspect, see CH23560, that
  • an amount that ought to have been assessed to stamp duty land tax in respect of the transaction may not have been assessed, or
  • an assessment to stamp duty land tax in respect of the transaction may be or have become insufficient, or
  • relief from stamp duty land tax given in respect of the transaction may be or have become excessive, or
  • c) the notice is given for the purpose of obtaining any information or document that is also required for the purpose of checking that person’s position regarding a tax other than stamp duty land tax
  • d) relief from stamp duty land tax has been claimed in respect of the transaction and the notice is given for the purposes of checking whether
  • the relief must be withdrawn to any extent under a provision mentioned in Section 81 (further return where relief withdrawn) of FA2003, or
  • Section 81ZA (alternative finance arrangements: return where relief withdrawn) of FA2003, or
  • paragraph 6 of schedule 6B to FA 2003 applies (transfers involving multiple dwellings).

Condition D

A notice given under Condition D may not be given more than four years after the period beginning with the effective date of transaction.

If the transaction relates to seeding relief (per Schedule 7A FA2003), the four year time limit begins on the first day of the control period instead of the effective date of the transaction. This difference is to take account of the initial ‘seeding period’ during which seeding relief can be claimed.

Condition D was inserted into paragraph 21A of Schedule 36 by the Finance Act 2021 and came into effect on 10 June 2021. Therefore, Condition D applies to all transactions on or after 10 June 2021. It also applies to transactions which took place before 10 June 2021 and where HMRC can still give a taxpayer notice within the four-year time limit.

FA08/SCH36/PARA21A