Factors that might lead to Inland Revenue Special Compliance Office becoming involved in an investigation
Serious fraud (including prosecution cases)
- Substantial investigations involving groups of companies with liabilities spread across several local Tax Offices or with other special features
- Cases of exceptional difficulty or importance in the field of personal taxation
- Groups or classes of employees, or the self-employed where there is evidence of evasion, or the existing machinery for discovery, assessment, and Self Assessment enquiry is inadequate
- Serious PAYE irregularities including significant failure to remit tax and non-operation of PAYE
- Areas of general avoidance including offshore arrangements
- Evasion and avoidance arising from contrived liquidations, receivership, bankruptcy and informal methods of shedding tax liability
- Cases involving particularly complex or difficult records examination which require accountancy expertise
- Cases where accounts, documents or returns have been falsified
- Cases involving accountants and other professionals where they may be implicated in offences