BIM65820 - Solicitors: Requirement to provide details of interest to HMRC

Schedule 23 Finance Act 2011 (FA 2011), Data-Gathering Powers (Relevant Data) Regulations 2012, SI 2012 No 847

As the solicitor is a person by or through whom interest is paid, he is a ‘relevant data-holder’ for the purposes of Sch23 FA 2011. This means he can be required to produce details of these payments under the data-gathering powers.

The data-gathering powers came into force on 1 April 2012 and apply to ‘relevant data’ even if the data relates to periods before that date. These powers are information powers to be generally utilised for gathering specific pieces of information during the course of compliance checks.

See CH28600 for the meaning of ‘relevant data’ and ‘relevant data-holders’ in relation to interest.

You can request data from the data-holder by issuing a data-holder notice. You cannot use the data-gathering powers to ask for information on the tax position of the data-holder. Separate information and inspection powers can be used to request this information (see CH23000).

Data-holder notice

For the procedure which should be followed to issue a data-holder notice, see CH28250 onwards. For details of what the notice should include, see CH206420.