IEIM200400 - Legal framework for exchange: Timing and periods available

You can only request information for periods covered by the specific international agreement. This will normally coincide with the entry into force of the agreement. As many of the UK’s agreements have been in force for a significant time, this should not be an issue in most cases.

Even where an agreement has only recently entered into force, it may be that it allows for exchanges pertaining to periods prior to that happening. Conversely, an otherwise long-standing instrument may more recently have been expanded to cover other taxes, with exchanges pertaining to them only covering periods after the amendment. (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

It must also be recognised that it can be more difficult to obtain old information. The general rule is not to seek information which is more than five years old unless it originated then but is still affecting more recent periods (and so is likely to still be readily available). In practice we are limited by the record keeping requirements of the other jurisdiction. It is therefore always best to seek information at the earliest stage of your enquiry once you have exhausted domestic avenues (IEIM112300).

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Example

The UK’s exchange agreement with Jurisdiction Z came into force on 1 January 2015, and information can be exchanged for periods beginning after that date. The caseworker is running an enquiry into an individual’s return for the periods 2014-15, and 2015-16. The agreement could be used to seek information for 2015-16, but not for 2014-15, as that began on 6 April 2014, which was before the entry into force.