IEIM100020 | Exchange of information: Purpose of the guidance

This guidance will tell you when and how you can make a request for information from an overseas authority, the processes you need to go through to do so, and what you can do with the information once you have it. It will also tell you what you need to do when you are asked by a UK Competent Authority to provide information to him or her in response to a request from an overseas fiscal administration.

You will also find guidance on when you should consider sharing information with another administration spontaneously, without receiving a request.

This guidance is mainly applicable to direct taxes, but the exchange agreements can cover other taxes, and sometimes duties. See IEIM100040 for more details of the taxes covered in this guidance, and for links to similar guidance aimed at other taxes.

There is a diagram of how exchange works at IEIM100030, and links to the key concepts of exchange of information at IEIM101000.

In particular in the guidance, you may be interested in:

• Help with obtaining information from overseas (IEIM111030);

• Help with handling information requests (IEIM120100);

• What you are allowed to do with information received from overseas (IEIM200200, IEIM200400);

• How to share information spontaneously (IEIM120200); and

• The role of the Competent Authority (IEIM101400).

See the contents page at IEIM100000 for more subjects.

Disclosure of information within the UK

This guidance covers international exchange of information. If you wish to know about disclosing information within the UK you should read the HMRC Information Disclosure Guide.