Overview
Inspections may be announced or unannounced.
Announced inspections will be:
- arranged in advance by agreement CH253000, or
- made following the issue of an HMRC notice, for example if you have not been able to contact the taxpayer CH253500.
Where the risk justifies it, unannounced inspections which do not have advance agreement or notice can be made CH254000.
The overwhelming majority of inspections will be pre-arranged with at least 7 days notice, although they can sometimes be made earlier within the notice period, for example with the taxpayer's agreement to verify a claim.
If you need to make a inspection with less than 7 days notice that is not agreed with the taxpayer, you must get approval in advance from an authorised officer CH260000.
All unannounced inspections must be approved in advance by an authorised officer.
Inspections can be approved in advance by the Tribunal if you have reason to believe the inspection may be obstructed. The advantage of this is that penalties can be imposed if there is an obstruction when attempting to carry out an inspection that has been approved by the Tribunal CH25540. You will need to apply to the appropriate authorised officer if you think you need prior approval for an inspection from the Tribunal