MTAR20300 - Checks against registration conditions: further detail on registration conditions
This page provides additional technical detail about two complex areas:
- the meaning of “overdue return” and “relevant amount” for return and liability checks
- the condition relating to relevant, unspent convictions for fraud or tax offences
Meaning of ‘overdue return’ and ‘relevant amount’
At the point of registration, HMRC will check whether a business or relevant individual has overdue tax returns relating to their own tax affairs when assessing whether the registration conditions are met. This does not include checking the returns submitted on behalf of others (for example, as an executor or agent).
For this purpose, HMRC applies a consistent minimum standard across taxes with different filing frequencies. A return position will be treated as failing the condition where the equivalent of one year’s worth of required returns remains outstanding after a grace period.
HMRC will apply a grace period from the filing deadline before a return is treated as overdue for the purposes of registration checks.
The grace period may vary, for example, where returns are filed in jurisdictions that are known to operate with significant processing backlogs. Businesses do not need to apply for this, as HMRC will take such factors into account as part of its assessment.
This will be treated as follows. For taxes with:
- annual filing requirements (such as Corporation Tax, Income Tax or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) annual returns), the condition is failed where one required annual return remains outstanding after the grace period
- more frequent filing requirements (such as Making Tax Digital or quarterly VAT), the condition is failed where the pattern of non-filing is equivalent to one full year of returns remaining outstanding after the grace period
- event‑triggered filing requirements (for example, Stamp
Duty Land Tax), a return will be treated as overdue once the grace period has
expired following the point at which the filing obligation arises
Amounts that are subject to a genuine dispute will not be treated as overdue while the dispute is being resolved. Where an amount is later found to be payable (for example, following a good faith underpayment), it must be paid in full before registration can be completed, or within the relevant period to rectify where the business is already registered.
In certain circumstances, HMRC may also take account of individual factors (for example, where a reasonable excuse has been accepted), in line with wider compliance guidance.
This approach is designed to ensure that businesses and their relevant individuals are treated consistently, regardless of how often their returns are required to be filed.
When assessing whether the registration conditions are met, HMRC checks whether the business and relevant individuals have unpaid tax relating to their own tax affairs.
A business or individual will not meet the condition where amounts remain outstanding and are not covered by an agreed and active time to pay (TTP) arrangement. HMRC treats the condition as met for as long as the TTP arrangement remains in place and is being complied with.
If a TTP arrangement is cancelled, defaults, or is otherwise no longer active, the existence of unpaid tax will result in the registration condition no longer being met.
HMRC expects tax advisers to ensure that their tax affairs are kept up to date, or that appropriate payment arrangements are agreed and maintained where full payment is not immediately possible.
Example (annual return)
A company applies to register and has not filed its Corporation Tax return for the most recent accounting period. Three months have passed since the filing deadline. Because one annual return remains outstanding after the grace period, the business has an overdue return and registration cannot be accepted until the return is filed.
This example relates to filing obligations only. Payment timings and arrangements (including instalment payments) are considered separately under the ‘relevant amount’ condition.
Example (quarterly returns)
A firm required to submit quarterly VAT returns fails to file multiple returns, resulting in the equivalent of a full year’s VAT returns being outstanding. More than three months have passed since the relevant filing deadline. This is treated as having an overdue return and registration cannot be accepted until the overdue returns are submitted.
Example (relevant individual)
A firm applies to register and all of the business’s own tax obligations are up to date. However, one of its relevant individuals has not submitted their Self Assessment return for the most recent tax year. Three months have passed since the filing deadline. Because this return remains outstanding after the grace period, the relevant individual does not meet the overdue returns condition, and the firm cannot meet the registration conditions until the return is filed.
List of relevant criminal convictions
As part of registration, HMRC checks whether the business or any relevant individual has a relevant, unspent conviction for a fraud or tax offence.
The offences that are treated as relevant for these purposes are set out in Section 229 of the Finance Act 2026. There is a defined list of criminal offences, and HMRC applies this list when assessing whether the registration condition is met.
A relevant offence is any of the following:
a) an offence under section 20BB of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (falsification of documents)
b) an offence under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
c) an offence under section 112 (false representations for obtaining benefit) or section 114 (offences relating to contributions) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992
d) an offence under the Value Added Tax Act 1994
e) an offence under section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (offence of fraud)
f) an offence under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005
g) an offence under section 45 or 46 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion offences)
h) the common law offence of cheating the public revenue
i) an offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom consisting of being knowingly concerned in, or taking steps with a view to, the fraudulent evasion of tax
j) an offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of any of the offences listed above
k) an offence under the law of a territory outside the United Kingdom which would be any of the offences listed above if the conduct constituting the offence were carried out in the United Kingdom
For the purposes of the offence described in paragraph (k), it does not matter how the offence is described under the law of the overseas territory. What matters is whether the conduct would amount to a relevant offence if it occurred in the United Kingdom.
If HMRC identifies a company or LLP with a relevant and unspent conviction, that business cannot register with HMRC. This remains the case as long as the conviction remains unspent.
If HMRC identifies a relevant individual with a relevant and unspent conviction, the affected person does not meet the registration condition, and the business therefore cannot register with HMRC. This remains the case as long as either:
- the conviction remains unspent
- that person remains within scope as a relevant individual (and the conviction remains unspent)
If the individual is no longer within scope as a relevant individual, their circumstances will not be taken into account in assessing whether the business meets the registration conditions.
Convictions that are spent are not taken into account and do not cause the condition to be failed.
Where a registration condition is failed because of a relevant conviction, HMRC will:
- inform the business that the registration condition has not been met
- identify and share information with the business about which relevant individual is affected
- inform the relevant individual that the registration condition has not been met
HMRC will not disclose details of the conviction to the tax adviser. This approach allows the business to understand the outcome and consider next steps while respecting the relevant individual’s privacy.