SDLTM51000 - Procedure

Pre-transaction and post-transaction rulings under Code of Practice 10: General guidance

Requests for advice in relation to stamp duty land tax matters.

Code of Practice 10 (COP10) details the ways in which HM Revenue & Customs offers information and advice to tax payers to help them to understand their obligations so that they can get their tax affairs right and pay their tax on time.

One of the situations in which we will give advice is on the interpretation of legislation passed in the last four Finance Acts. It is in this situation that COP10 will currently be of most value to those dealing with stamp duty land tax.

The full COP10 booklet is available on the HM Revenue & Customs website at www.hmrc.gov.uk, with hard copies available from the Stamp Office.

Customers wishing to use COP10 to obtain information or advice should study the detail of the leaflet. Amongst other things the leaflet sets out the detailed information that needs to accompany a request for advice under COP10.

The COP10 booklet makes it clear that HM Revenue & Customs will not help with tax planning, or advise on transactions designed to avoid or reduce the tax charge that might otherwise be expected to arise.

Rulings given under COP10 apply only to the specific transaction in question and do not relate to other transactions which taxpayers might regard as similar or even identical.

Requests for guidance under COP10 should be addressed to The Customer Service Team, Birmingham Stamp Office. Please address all your correspondence to the COP10 section.

See also SDLTM51010 for advice on when to make the request for a ruling.