Brett Barton
Brett's recent articles
- A New Dawn for the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)
13th November - Is there a future for charities?
17th September - Tougher Measures For Directors
20th August
Prevention is better than a cure!
5th March 2008 09:33
It is widely known that HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) was formed on the 18 April 2005, following a radical merger of both Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise. So nearly three years on, what effect has this had on the way in which we communicate with the Crown?
In most aspects of Insolvency, in the last couple of years we have seen a number of specialist offices being expanded and developed; with a VAT insolvency unit in Liverpool, insolvency claims handling unit in Newcastle Upon Tyne and a direct taxes unit in Worthing. This is in addition to the Insolvency Compliance Unit (Revenue) and Debt Management Units (VAT) that were already in existence.
In my experience, it seems that the powers of HMRC are being flexed more and more as we see a continued crackdown in certain areas of business. This started with the Bona Vacantia solicitor take a firmer stance against s.652 cases and the need to apply for relief under Extra Statutory Concession 16 (“ESC C16”).
You may not be aware but on 1 April 2007, HMRC created a new team called Insolvency Compliance & Securities (“ICS”). The primary aim of ICS is to reduce the losses to the Exchequer as a result of insolvency and it intends to focus on directors who use the insolvency process as a means to avoiding or evading their tax and duty liability. The leader of the team, Bob De Croos, has confirmed that the team will not “shy away from pursuing directors under the Insolvency Act, ss.216 and 217 or issuing personal liability notices on directors in appropriate circumstances.” How the ICS team will decide when and if to intervene remains to be seen but we have noticed a firmer stance by HMRC to fund actions against directors in insolvency scenarios.
Both Tony and I will be hosting a series of seminars this year aimed at providing our business contacts with an overview of key insolvency topics. We would like to give you an insight into the responsibilities of an Insolvency Practitioner and some helpful guidance and preventative tips that you can pass onto your clients.
If you would like to attend these seminars please contact Natalie who will register your interest and ensure that an invite is sent to you in due course.
