Received a Schedule 36 information notice from HMRC?

Schedule 36 is the part of the Finance Act 2008 that gives HMRC its main power to demand information and documents. A notice under it is different from an informal letter asking for help. It is a legal requirement, and you must respond by the date it gives.

Notices are common in HMRC investigations, including Code of Practice 8 investigations run by the Fraud Investigation Service. They can be sent to you, or to someone else such as your bank, accountant or a company you are connected with. These are known as third-party notices.

HMRC can ask for information or documents that are reasonably required to check your tax position. That test matters. A notice that goes wider than HMRC needs, asks for things you do not have, or covers years HMRC can no longer look at may be challenged.

There are also limits on what must be produced. These include some documents that are legally privileged, some older records, and certain journalistic or personal records. Whether a particular item falls inside a notice is a question of detail, and it is worth checking before you send anything.

Every notice has a deadline. If you do not comply, HMRC can charge an initial penalty and then daily penalties for as long as the failure continues. Deliberately destroying or concealing documents covered by a notice can be a criminal offence.

If you need more time, ask for it early and in writing. HMRC will often agree a sensible extension where there is a good reason, but it is much harder to arrange once the deadline has passed.

You can appeal against most Schedule 36 notices sent to you, usually within 30 days. An appeal can argue that the information is not reasonably required, or that a particular item falls outside what HMRC can ask for. Some notices cannot be appealed, for example those approved in advance by the tax tribunal, or those asking for your own statutory records.

An appeal is not about refusing to co-operate. It is about making sure HMRC gets what it is entitled to, in a form that is accurate and complete, and nothing that could be misread.

We review the notice with you, check whether HMRC is entitled to everything it asks for, and agree the right response: comply, negotiate the scope, ask for more time or appeal. We then prepare and check what is sent, so that nothing is handed over by mistake and nothing is missed.

Your first call is free and confidential. If a deadline is close, please call us today rather than waiting for a reply by email.