ONSCG7400 - When a clearance has been dealt with: risk assessments

Data and information in clearance applications should inform but not drive the risk assessment process undertaken for businesses and individuals. The data and information will be used in two ways

• themes and trends may point to risks across broad areas of customer populations
• individual applications will be relevant to HMRC’s risk assessment of the business concerned.

The clearance is dependent on the facts (including purpose) set out in the application and there may be a risk that the actual facts differ from those set out.

However, it is important that, although information from the clearance application can be taken into account, the clearance application alone should not routinely be used to drive the risk profile. This means that the detail of a clearance application should usually only be revisited where it is considered that this will inform other significant risk factors that have come to light as part of the routine risk assessment.