CH53100 - Assessing Time Limits: Extended time limits: When can the extended time limits be used?
During a compliance check, you may establish that
- all taxes have not been assessed or accounted for, or
- sums have been over-repaid or wrongly deducted.
You will need to decide what action you can take to recover this tax. That action may be an assessment.
- For VAT purposes, you may also need to assess default surcharge, interest or one of the penalties listed in CH51250.
- For aggregates levy, climate change levy and landfill tax purposes, you may also need to assess interest or one of the penalties listed in CH51250.
In certain circumstances the time limits for assessing are extended beyond the normal time limit of 4 years from the end of the relevant tax period described in CH51700.
The extended time limits are
- 6 years from the end of the relevant tax period, or
- 20 years from the end of the relevant tax period.
Whether you can use the 6-year or 20-year time limit depends on whether
- the person’s behaviour, or that of a person acting on their behalf, see CH53200, has led to the loss of tax, or
- the person has failed to comply with certain obligations.
The 6-year time limit does not apply to VAT, insurance premium tax, aggregates levy, climate change levy, landfill tax or excise duty.
You can find more information about the 6-year time limit in CH53300 and the 20-year time limit in CH53600.
There are other time limits that must be considered for VAT and other indirect taxes assessments. For more information about
- VAT tax assessments, see CH51820
- penalty, interest and default surcharge assessments, see CH51840
- assessments to recover excessive VAT repayments or VAT credits, see CH51860 and CH51880
- insurance premium tax, aggregates levy, climate change levy and landfill tax assessments, see CH51920
- insurance premium tax, aggregates levy, climate change levy and landfill tax penalty and interest assessments, see CH51940
- insurance premium tax, aggregates levy, climate change levy and landfill assessments to recover over-claimed credits, see CH51960
- excise duty limitations, see CH51980.
For information about the time limit for assessing penalties for
- inaccuracies, FA07/SCH24, see CH83040
- failure to comply with an information notice, obstruction of a tribunal approved inspection and inaccuracies in information or a document provided in response to an information notice, FA08/SCH36, see CH26860
- failure to notify, FA08/SCH41, see CH74200
- VAT and Excise wrongdoings, FA08/SCH41, see CH96300.
