HMRC Collects ВЈ32m Through Accelerated Payment Notices

HMRC has confirmed that it has collected £32m in disputed tax following the first batch of Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs) that were sent in August this year.

APNs were sent to around 30 investors who were suspected of using tax avoidance schemes. A total of £29m in disputed unpaid tax was demanded by HMRC.

Accelerated Payment Noticed were introduced in July as part of the Finance Act 2014 as a new HMRC tactic to collect suspected unpaid tax from those who had invested in tax avoidance schemes. At the end of June 2014 HMRC released a list of the tax avoidance schemes, that each had a unique identification number, and announced plans to target those it suspected of making investments into them.

When the announcement was made, HMRC stated that it planned to target 45,000 tax avoidance scheme investors through APNs. To date, approximately 1,750 have been issued with the objective of collecting £400m in disputed tax.

If an investor is issued with an Accelerated Payment Notice they will be required to repay the specified amount of disputed tax within 90 days, prior to entering into any appeal process.

Critics warned of the scheme when it was announced. However, HMRC now believe that the proportion of unpaid tax that has been repaid so far demonstrates the effectiveness of issuing APNs.

It is reported that HMRC will now plan to increase the number of APNs it issues in 2015 as it continues to claw back the UK tax deficit and reduce tax avoidance.

If you have invested in any of the tax avoidance schemes listed by HMRC you should seek advice and assistance from discrete and experienced tax investigations professionals.

There may still be an opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC. However, if you are issued with an Accelerated Payment Notice (APN) it may be too late.

For more information about how we can assist in tax investigations by HMRC and making voluntary disclosures, contact our tax investigations professionals in complete confidence on 0113 387 5670 or by filling out an Enquiry Form .