Company Officer Liability Notices

When can a company debt be transferred to a Director? 

When HMRC considers that the underlying behaviour associated with a company tax error is ‘deliberate’ (such that an incorrect return is knowingly submitted), and it believes it can demonstrate the company Director has personally gained from the error, a Company Officer Liability Notice may be issued to the Director. This notice means that the penalty amount charged to the company can be collected by HMRC from the company Director personally. HMRC may also issue this notice in instances where it considers the company is at risk of becoming insolvent, irrespective of whether the Director has personally benefited from the company tax error.  

We are seeing more cases where HMRC Officers hold a pre-determined view that the underlying ‘behaviour’ that led to an error was deliberate, without having properly considered – or even asked for – the facts. In some cases, taxpayers, who are not represented by Tax Investigation specialists, are unable to adequately present the facts of the case to defend their position. This, combined with an increased push for revenues/yield by HMRC teams, has seemingly led to the unfair and disproportionate use of the Company Officer Liability Notice by HMRC.

What can I do?

You can contact us for a no fee, no obligation, telephone call or meeting at our offices by St Paul’s, London, so that we can better understand the position and explain how we can assist you. Even if the appeal period stated in HMRC’s letters has passed, we may still be able to resolve the matter without needing to escalate the case to the First Tier Tribunal.

How can we help?

Our award-winning Tax Investigation and Dispute Resolution team has an excellent and distinguished track record of making effective penalty representations to HMRC. Our team, which includes ex-HMRC Fraud Investigation Service Officers, has expert knowledge of how HMRC’s penalty legislation operates and should be properly applied. We can: 

• Ensure you are treated fairly, and effectively represented by specialists; 
• Discuss how and why the errors occurred with you;
• Fully review the position to determine whether HMRC has the necessary evidence to charge a deliberate penalty; 
• Make representations to HMRC as to the underlying behaviour and provide our view as to whether we consider the relevant conditions to issue a notice have been met; and
• Should you agree that the underlying behaviour is ‘deliberate’, we can review HMRC’s decision regarding the Quality of Disclosure and consider whether the level of penalty mitigation applied is fair.

Get help today

Call us today on +44 (0)20 7710 3389 or fill in the form below and a member of our team will be in touch. All communications are in the strictest confidence.