SCIG02110 - Case identification: Basic principles: Case criteria

(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

The main themes, covering both direct and indirect taxes, are:

• avoidance cases which require an investigative approach
• cases involving suspected serious fraud which will be dealt with under civil procedures.

These themes are not mutually exclusive. Examples of the work we deal with are:

• cases that require sensitive handling such as ‘Sensitive’ cases, people in the public eye and others where there is likely to be media interest
• substantial investigations involving individuals or groups of companies with liabilities spread across several areas or with other special features including marketed/bespoke avoidance
• cases of particular difficulty or importance in the field of personal taxation
• cases where there is evidence that groups or classes of employees or self-employed are involved in avoidance or evasion and the existing machinery for discovery assessments and self-assessment enquiry is inadequate
• cases involving particularly complex or difficult records examination requiring accountancy expertise
• cases which will require extensive use of the information powers, in particular where third party enquiries are needed
• cases where the Civil Investigation of Fraud (CIF) procedure is considered appropriate.

Investigators and Operational Leaders need first to identify cases which are within these broad criteria. They then need to decide whether the case is indeed appropriate for SI (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) and if it is, under what code it should be worked.

This chapter is concerned with case identification. Subsequent chapters are concerned with the processes of review and case working which follow.