EM7506 | Partnerships: giving notice

Where there is a requirement in the Income Tax and Corporation Taxes Acts for HMRC to ‘give notice’, the notice must be in writing where it relates to

• Income Tax

• Capital Gains Tax, or

• Corporation Tax

This applies to partnerships. For example s12AC(1) TMA1970 states that ‘an officer of the Board may enquire into a partnership return if he gives notice of his intention to do so’. This notice must be in writing.

For partnerships, notices normally have to be given to the nominated partner or their successor.

The term ‘notice’ is formally defined at s.989 ITA2007 and s.1119 CTA2010. Both state that a notice means a notice in writing. The only exception is under FA1998 s.118 for certain claims, see SACM3015.

Section 1 of the Interpretation Act 1978 says, ‘Every section of an Act takes effect as a substantive enactment without introductory words’. This means that s.989 ITA2007 and s1119 CTA2009 apply to all sections of TMA1970 and FA1998 Sch18.

It is important to note however that there are no such requirements for notices to be in writing for other taxes, for example Stamp Duty Land Tax, Stamp Duty Reserve Tax or Bank Payroll Tax. This is because there is no equivalent to s.989 ITA2007 and s.1119 CTA2010.