| WAMS Tax Ltd |
| COP9 & CDF Enquiries - Serious Crime |
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| SCI or CIF work needs specialist advice and careful preparation of your disclosure report |
| 24/7 Mobile 07751 720507 (anytime) Land line 01224 658962 (office hours) or click below to bill.stevenson@wamstaxltd.com |
| Bill has the specialist skill to help if you get a letter from SCI or one of CIF teams |
Contact Bill at the earliest point to ensure matters are not prejudiced. Time is critical and the clock is ticking as soon as you sign for that registered letter from HMRC. |
| Code of Practice 9 (COP9) Facility You have to know what you are doing!! Don't take the risk of inexperienced handling |
| HMR&C Prosecutions - While Prosecutions need to be handled by a legal team it is clearly advantageous to have ex-HMR&C experience on the team. Bill Stevenson is willing and able to competently help in relation to the tax defence and provide advice to any legal team involved. Check out this link to Prosecution Policy to see if there is a risk of you being prosecuted. Contact Bill on 07751720507 if you need to discuss a COP9 letter (or even better obtaining the protection of COP9 before HMRC come a knocking or offer it). In this way you can also potentially avoid being published as a deliberate defaulter or as Inspectors call it "named and shamed". FRAUD INVESTIGATION SERVICE Office - COP9 : If you have received a letter from the HMRC's FRAUD Investigation Service - Fraud and Bespoke Avoidance (Previously SCI or CIF or Inland Revenue Special Compliance Office) then you really need to get specialist advice as usually you have material problems to consider. I can help you and first consultation free!!! Into the bargain in the first 60 days from receipt of the letter you are on your own if your adviser doesn't have the necessary experience to guide you through an "outline disclosure" or the precarious "rejection of the COP9 offer" from HMRC Contractual Disclosure facility / CIF Team- Now called Fraud Investigation Service - Get it sorted Bill I can help!!! If you have received a letter from one of the HMRC's Contractual Disclosure or Taxes Criminal teams (previously dealt with by SCI and now the Fraud Investigation Service) then you really need to get specialist advice as they are looking for large amounts or may have incorrect information that needs careful handling. You can also still get prosecuted (see link here) if you do not do things correctly but I can help you to ensure that this doesn't happen!!! The procedures changed from February 2012 and again from 2014 so make sure that your specialist is up to date with the Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) as getting it wrong can still lead to prosecution if you don't do things correctly. You will also miss the CDF opportunity if HMRC do not have your acceptable outline disclosure within 60 days of the date on the CDF letter. A day late and HMRC can refuse to entertain it as a disclosure - and DO do this - so you need to be aware of the possible strategies early on. I have the knowledge having been involved in the setting up of these CIF teams for Scotland Wales & Northern Ireland. I also have the specialist advice to help you ensure that you get the best deal you can. There are a number of things that need to be taken care of to ensure that you are not prejudiced. While we can get the Gaurantee of No Prosecution we must also deal with matters carefully so that the immunity is not subsequently lost. CIF stands for Civil Investigation of Fraud and FIS stands for Fraud Investigation Service. HM Revenue & Customs investigations into cases of suspected serious tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance have for many years been dealt with by specialist offices. Special Civil Investigation of fraud units are similar in set up to the old Special Compliance Office, Enquiry Branch and Special Offices set up in the 1970s and 1980s. As more and more Inspectors are redeployed back to local districts and staffing is "streamlined" it is likely that more CIFs will be dealt with locally so taxpayers and their advisers need to be alert to enquiries issued under Code of Practice 8 (COP8) and Code of Practice 9 (2014) (COP9) but not from the usual SCI offices. From around July 2006 CIF teams started operating in Local Compliance led by team leaders with Ex- Enquiry Branch/SCO/SCI experience, these teams are undertaking work previously restricted to the Specialist Fraud Enquiry offices and incorporating both Direct (IR) and Indirect(VAT) enquiries under the one code. They deal with all tax irregularities whatever the tax type IHT to Tax Credits, Direct tax to Indirect tax. Nothing is safe. Since 2015 both the prosecution and civil settlement arms of HMR&C have been merged under the banner of Fraud Investigation Service. VAT Serious Non Compliance enquiries and also SOCA investigators may be operating in close contact. You need to make sure that you get it right first time as there is not usually a second chance if you miss something material Need help or even a second opinion call Bill on 07751720507. Having done it on the other side I know the pitfalls and secrets of how far HMR&C can actually go. Because it is so serious Bill does not put anything on here that could be construed as advice as each case needs to be seriously considered on its own merits BUT generally it is believed that cooperation is the best way of taking matters forward. However remember you cannot put in Box 4A of the form anything that does not constitute deliberate tax evasion or tax fraud. So if you honestly believe that you have not committed such "crimes" you should not sign the acceptance certificate and therefore reject their offer - leaving HMRC to all of a sudden have to decide whether to consider an investigation with a view to prosecution or an alternative strategy. Avoidance Schemes - If you have paid out loads of money on a tax avoidance scheme don't accept that HMRC has approved it merely because your seller said it had an HMRC registered number. This merely means that HMRC are aware of the scheme and may well challenge it in the near future. See the HMRC Spotlights articles that let you know the ones they are challenging and what they say about others. An interesting recent development is HMRC using "COP9" procedures to flesh out their anti-avoidance attack - be careful as you can still get prosecuted for tax avoidance if you provide false or misleading information and documents. Such ill conceived attacks by HMRC (of issuing COP9 in solely tax avoidance cases) need careful and robust handling and knowledge of HMRC procedures to defend them. . Offshore Bank Account Project Team - Be aware that Offshore income tax evasion carries heavier penalties (up to twice) those of normal onshore/domestic tax evasion. So you need expertise even more to reduce or even hopefully negate penalties. These Teams are under instruction from their national offshore bank account project team and basically will try and circumvent the statute and limitations imposed on them by the law. Don't let them bully you ....... but also be aware of the Tax "amnesty" Campaigns that are on the go from time to time see HMRC Tax Campaigns Naming and shaming - Doesn't sound good and it isn't if you are worried about your name being publicised on the HMRC website for 12 months as a serious tax evader. see Managing Serious Defaulters where you can see the usual questions and answers as publicised by HMRC. However if you go forward voluntarily and before HMRC send out their "invitation" letter you can also avoid such publicity by fully cooperating and disclosing your tax irregularities. Into the bargain it is inevitable that somebody going forward BEFORE they are caught carries a lot more credibility when it comes to negotiating and settling with HMRC. Also remember that HMRC might not on every occasion get it right and therefore you need appropriate expertise (and experience) to get the proper strategy for your situation. Get Bill Stevenson's help in understanding their powers and limitations and work your enquiry to best benefit. There are always ways to save money and cover my reasonable fees. Call me on 0775 1720507 at any time for an initial chat at no charge or use the contact email. Please remember however I pick my clients carefully so you need to be totally up front from the start and trust me. Others already have and you can see the results from their Testimonials. |
Bill can help you in any COP9 enquiry Phone 07751 720507 for an initial confidential chat |
View our details in the FreeIndex Tax Investigation directory.
The comments on this site are personal views and solely those of the author who retains the copyright. Each
enquiry has its own dangers and opportunities that require full and detailed considerations and advice. No
responsibility can be taken for any actions that the reader decides to take (or not take) after reading the text and
articles unless you engage with the company and Bill Stevenson on a proper fee paying client/tax adviser basis.
The personal views of Bill set out on this page do not constitute tax advice and are presented for enjoyment only
by the reader
WAMS Tax Ltd - Bill Stevenson - 07751 720 507
enquiry has its own dangers and opportunities that require full and detailed considerations and advice. No
responsibility can be taken for any actions that the reader decides to take (or not take) after reading the text and
articles unless you engage with the company and Bill Stevenson on a proper fee paying client/tax adviser basis.
The personal views of Bill set out on this page do not constitute tax advice and are presented for enjoyment only
by the reader
WAMS Tax Ltd - Bill Stevenson - 07751 720 507
Tax evasion and higher risk of prosecution
"CIF" & "SCI" Enquiries need specialist
handling
See The Link Here
You need to get matters sorted out quickly -
sometimes within 60 days - so read on:-
"CIF" & "SCI" Enquiries need specialist
handling
See The Link Here
You need to get matters sorted out quickly -
sometimes within 60 days - so read on:-
