UKOITC
Kirsten White (KW) Chair UKOITC
Phil Greatrex (PG) Brindex
Gordon Dennis (GD) Conocophillips/UKOITC
Jacqui Akinlosotu (JA) OTAC
Jenny Taylor (JT) Taqa Bratani
Craig Stewart (CS) Petro – Canada
Jo Wakeman (JW) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Rob Douglas (RD) HM Treasury
Phil Slarks (PS) HM Treasury
Diane Williams (DW) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Hilary Woolston (HW) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Mike Crabtree (MC) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Tony Chanter (TC) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Russell Malloch (RM) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Andrew Parrock (AP) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
Paul Philip (PP) HMRC: LBS Oil & Gas
1. JW welcomed everyone to the meeting and formal introductions were made.
2. The minutes were reviewed for accuracy and any matters arising.
3. On e-filing and XBRL, KW explained that no contact had been made to follow up and explore the possible impacts the requirements would have on industry. One concern was the tendency for commercial packages to either entirely omit aspects relevant to the oil and gas sector, or to get them wrong.
4. Action point HMRC: – To supply KW with the relevant contact details to follow up these concerns.
5. KW reported that the Budget contained no surprises and was in line with the expectations that had arisen during the work and discussions that had taken place with HMRC and HMT. She commented that the one real disappointment was on field allowance proposals as there was general disappointed in industry on the criteria proposed. RD commented that the criteria were based on evidence presented to them during discussions with industry but that they were happy to listen to representations for the qualifying criteria to be amended.
6. MC’s letter of 5 May 2009 had been received and would be considered at the next UKOITC meeting to be held on Wednesday 13 May 2009. KW believed there were a few issues and anticipated being able to provide a considered collective response after their meeting. She wondered how issues that arose might be taken forward.
7. MC said that if any corrections or amendments to the legislation were needed it was important they were notified as early as possible if they were to fit with the Finance Bill timetable. It was therefore agreed responses would be submitted before the end of May 2009.
8. PG asked when the further letter regarding cushion gas would be sent out. It was believed a further letter would be sent out after Finance Bill although it was made clear that this was not an issue running to a Finance Bill timetable, or a technical issue owned by Oil and Gas.
9. Action point HMRC: To confirm when the letter will be sent out.
10. JW raised the matter of Senior Accounting Officers (SAOs) of large companies explaining that she wanted to mention the series of informal consultations that were taking place. This process would be open to hear from UKOITC or industry bodies. The aim of the informal consultations was to provide clarity and reassurance, ahead of the preparation of guidance, that the new requirements will not impose any significant additional burdens on companies or their SAOs.
11. KW welcomed the opportunity to engage with the process as the announcements had not been welcomed by industry.
12. Action point HMRC: JW to provide contact details.
13. RD reiterated the points made in his letter of 22 April 2009 that there were still issues that industry wanted to take forward with government, and that the process of engagement with stakeholders would continue.
14. OGUK was meeting again in a couple of weeks and there were a number of areas where they would like further work to be taken forward. These included issues around decommissioning security and IHT, as well as some of the qualifying conditions for the new Field Allowance.
15. Action point HMRC: PP to co-ordinate arrangements for a meeting with IHT specialists.
16. Action point UKOITC: To report feedback from OGUK meeting to confirm areas where further work might be taken forward.
17. RD explained that there would be changes to the oil and gas tax policy teams in both HMT and HMRC. Both he and MC were moving on although they would still be available to deal with Finance Bill issues.
18. KW wanted to thank both MC and RD for their part in leading the huge amount of policy work that had been carried out over the last few years. She said the dialogue with industry had been excellent and the willingness to listen and engage with industry had been hugely appreciated.
19. Both MC and RD expressed their gratitude for the level of industry co-operation and input into the process.
20. It was agreed there were currently no operational issues to discuss.
21. JW reported that:
? All but 11 per cent of small legacy issues had been cleared against a clearance
target of 20 per cent.
? On the larger legacy issues all but 28 per cent had been cleared against
a clearance target of 30 per cent.
22. JW expressed her thanks to industry for the level of co-operation that had helped allow so much of the older issues to be settled.
23. On targets going forward JW explained that the HMRC Business Plan had been published and that discussions were underway to establish precisely what this will mean for individual business units. It was anticipated however there would be a focus on developing key performance indicators to further focus work on higher risk areas, and at the same time there would be a continued focus on developing appropriate low risk relationships with customer groups.
24. HMRC will report further progress at the next meeting.
25. HW reported that the current arrangements were that conference would be on Friday 13 November 2009 at Somerset House. HW will co-ordinate arrangements with UKOITC and further work on finalising the agenda will take place following the next UKOITC meeting.
26. JW and KW had briefly discussed the current structure, purpose and delivery of the committee and had agreed that, given the recent change in co-chairs, it was now sensible to review the appropriateness of the current arrangements.
27. It was agreed that both sides would look again at the terms of reference of the committee, with a view to confirming the existing arrangements or discussing possible changes.
28. Action point: HMRC and UKOITC: Both parties to provide views by the end of June for discussion at the next meeting of the committee.
29. DW reported that the first tranche of the re-write has been completed and is currently being reviewed by UKOITC. LBS is currently working on the second tranche to timelines set internally, and the material will be shared with UKOITC when it has been completed.
30. Action point HMRC: DW to share timelines with UKOITC.
31. DW also drew UKOITC’s attention to HMRC’s revised guidance on Tax Compliance Risk Management, and in particular to Annex K which outlines the new approach to Governance and Delivery. The revised guidance will further develop the way HMRC works with companies to understand their businesses and how risks are managed.
32. The revised guidance can be found on the HMRC website by following the
attached link - Tax
compliance risk management: guidance for Large Business Service (LBS) customers
and staff.
