CODE OF PRACTICE 9
Code of Practice 9 Investigations
Any investigations that are instigated under Code of Practice 9 can result in a criminal accusation and must be taken extremely seriously. If an individual or business is suspected of criminal fraud they will receive a letter and offer of a Code of Practice 9 contract from HMRC, which must be replied to within sixty days.
The recipient can sign the enclosed contract and accept that deliberate and wilful acts of misconduct have resulted in a loss of tax payments, or this contract can be rejected. If this is the course of action settled upon, HMRC will launch a full, forensic investigation that could either be a civil matter or cause for criminal investigation. If HMRC does not receive a response within the sixty-day time limit that they impose, they will assume that the individual or business has rejected the CDF and begin the necessary proceedings.
If you receive a Code of Practice 9 letter and contract, it is absolutely imperative that you seek professional advice immediately – the consequences could be extremely dire if you fail to do so. Experienced tax accountants will be able to provide advice on how best to proceed, and an investigation can be an extremely long and intrusive process. Bringing in outside assistance will shield you from much of this trouble.
If an individual or business does agree to cooperate with HMRC on a Code of Practice 9 investigation, this will be reflected in the penalties that are imposed at the end of the investigation, which will be designed to recoup the tax funds lost and provide a financial penalty. If HMRC accepts Contractual Disclosure the Code of Practice 9 investigation will also largely be conducted as a civil proceeding, as opposed to criminal procedure.
Criminal investigations
HMRC has always taken a dim view of tax evasion, but now it is increasingly likely that any accusation of such as practice will result in an investigation
specialist investigation
If you should receive a letter from HMRC’s Specialist Investigations division, you should take this very seriously indeed and seek professional advice immediately.
proceeds of crime act
Proceeds of Crime Act relates to Revenue Functions. The purpose is to permit the confiscation of any financial or material gain from the committing of a crime
code of practice 8
COP8 investigations can be slightly confusing. HMRC’s fraud investigation act under this code, may not relate to criminal accusations of fraud
code of practice 9
Any investigations that are instigated under Code of Practice 9 will result in a criminal accusation and must be taken extremely seriously.