CH195050 - Electronic sales suppression: penalty for making, supplying or promoting an electronic sales suppression tool: reductions for disclosure: quality of disclosure: helping
Helping includes
- providing reasonable help in establishing who the tool has been supplied or made available to, how its use can be detected within customer’s systems
- actively engaging to quantify the extent of use of the tool
- identification of data altered or manipulated
- positive assistance as opposed to passive acceptance or obstruction
- volunteering any information relevant to the disclosure
In considering whether a person has given reasonable help, you should always take account of the abilities and circumstances of the person. You should not, for example, penalise the person for not helping us with matters where the person knows we already have the necessary information.
What is important is the timing, nature and extent of the help the person provides to establish the nature of the tool and its use.
Timing
The timing relates to how soon the disclosure is made and the period over which the help is given. As well as there not being any avoidable delays there should be an active approach, providing information and access to records as early as possible.
Nature
The nature covers whether the help is useful and saves you time and effort in establishing the nature of the tool and the extent of its use. For the person to just appear to be helpful but not actually producing anything of use is not what is required.
Extent
The extent of the help covers the whole period of the compliance check from start to finish and all aspects of the compliance check. If help is only received for part of the time or in certain aspects you would not give the full reduction.
Overall, the person must be as active as possible in assisting HMRC in establishing the nature of the tool and the extent of its use.
For example
- producing relevant records
- obtaining evidence capable of verification (for example, bank statements)
- attending meetings with you where that is the best way to help establish the nature of the tool and the extent of its use