TTOG11720 - Civil Investigation of Fraud (Code 9): historical record: managing the disclosure process: breakdown in the disclosure process

In some instances a taxpayer may adopt the procedures and agree to prepare a disclosure report. However, during the disclosure process they may fail to meet deadlines and there may be little evidence that any work has been undertaken to produce a report or schedule.

We must be careful not to allow excessive time to elapse. Where it becomes apparent that the taxpayer will not meet the agreed disclosure timetable, you should give a warning that

• the penalty reduction will be affected by delay, and
• excessive delay will lead to HMRC taking over the investigation, with further consequences for the level of penalties - see TTOG4415.