EM8320 - Companies: Quarterly Instalment Payments: Information Powers

S.I. 98 No 3175 Regulation 10

S.I. 98 No 3175 Regulation 11

S.I. 98 No 3175 Regulation 12

HMRC can require a company to produce documents or provide information relating to the computation, non-payment of an amount or repayment of an amount under the instalment regulations. An authorised officer EM8305 can require a company to make documents available for inspection. These regulations enable you to check that at the time the company made the payments they were consistent with the quality and quantity of the information that was available to it about its probable tax liability.

These information powers can only be used after the statutory filing date for the return. At that stage the amounts paid by each instalment date will be known. The amount of instalment payments due will normally be known, from the liability shown on the return. If the return is still outstanding at that date the dates and amounts of the instalment payments can be included in a notice to accompany a Revenue determination.

The information powers should therefore only be used where you believe the company may be liable to a penalty under section 59E(4), and to determine whether the company’s failure was deliberate or reckless, or whether any claim to repayment under regulation 6 was fraudulent or negligent.