CH83030 - Penalties for Inaccuracies: How to Process the Penalty: What the assessment must include

You must check the date from which these rules apply for the tax or duty you are dealing with. See CH81011 for full details.

A penalty assessment must include

• the date of the assessment
• the amount of the penalty
• the legislation under which the penalty is assessed
• the tax period or claim to which the penalty relates
• the amount of any penalty suspended.

The penalty assessment also has a section explaining the appeal rights.

Sometimes the tax period is just one day.

• For Inheritance Tax, the tax period is the date of death or other event that gives rise to the inheritance tax charge in connection with which the penalty is payable.
• Where the tax period is one day you show that date as both the start and the end date on the assessment.

Be careful when you are dealing with a partnership.

• For the purpose of most taxes, duties or levies, a partnership is treated as a person in its own right. If the penalty assessment relates to those taxes, duties or levies, it should be issued to the partnership.
• For income tax, capital gains tax and corporation tax, a partnership does not have a liability. The liability is shared amongst the relevant partners for the year of assessment involved. See CH84730 where the penalty relates to an incorrect SA partnership return.