ECSH33020 - Start of the visit

When you arrive at the premises you should speak to the person who is the subject of your compliance check or another responsible person, see ECSH 32805 Who to contact,and you should: 

  • introduce yourself and show your HMRC identity card, along with any person(s) accompanying you and explain their role in the meeting 

  • confirm the names of all people representing the business and ask to seean ID document to confirm their identity and ask their purpose for attending the meeting. If an individual doesn’t appear to have a reason for being there, ensure the business is aware that you may be discussing sensitive information and ensure they are content for the meeting to continue 

  • explain the objectives of the compliance check and how you intend to conduct it 

  • tell them what you need to see 

  • invite them to ask any questions they may have 

  • keep a record of all the above in your contemporaneous notes. See ECSH 33025  

If the person has declared any disability or needs any additional support, confirm any reasonable adjustments they have asked for, see ECSH 32926 Extra support. 

If they have not mentioned a disability, you should ask the person to let you know if there is anything about their health or personal circumstances that may make it difficult for them to deal with this compliance check so that you can help. 

If the person then mentions that they have a disability, ask them 

  • what help they need and agree any reasonable adjustments with them 

  • whether they would like a friend, family member or support worker to attend the meeting with them 

You should record any reasonable adjustments agreed in your official notebook or notes of meeting. 

You may also want to talk to the people responsible for maintaining records, customer facing staff, accounts clerks, and staff carrying out due diligence checks, such as a compliance team manager or head of internal audit. You might need to make additional visits to discuss operations.