CH179230 | Sanctionable conduct by tax advisers: appeals against a penalty: Inaccuracies in response to a file access notice

A person can appeal against the imposition and the amount of penalty that we have charged for providing a document which contains an inaccuracy in purported compliance with a file access notice.

The notice of appeal must

• be given to us in writing

• be given within 30 days from the penalty assessment, and

• state the grounds of the appeal.

If the person notifies their appeal against the imposition of a penalty for providing inaccurate documents to the tribunal, the tribunal may confirm or cancel the penalty.

If the person notifies their appeal against the amount of penalty for providing inaccurate documents in response to a file access notice to the tribunal, the tribunal may

• confirm the penalty amount, or

• substitute a different penalty amount that HMRC had the power to make.

The person does not have to pay the penalty before we can consider an appeal against the assessment of the penalty.

For procedural purposes, an appeal against the penalty is treated in the same way as an appeal against an income tax assessment. This means that the person appeals to HMRC and has the opportunity to have a review or to notify the appeal to the tribunal, either instead of or after the review.

The Appeals, Reviews and Tribunals Guidance, contains full guidance on the review and appeals process, see ARTG2100+.

FA12/SCH38/PARA31 as amended