HMRC Mean Business

HMRC Mean Business

HMRC Mean Business

“HMRC, what you gonna do? What you gonna do when they come for you?” Find out in their new step by step guide…

This week, HMRC have very kindly proved that our nightmares of Revenue inspection were not purely a figment of our imaginations, rather an aggressive, oppressive reality.

Beware, this is a cautionary tale.

In their new, delicately named self-help guide ‘What to expect when we visit you’ Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs literally walk us through a minute-by-minute visit from a Revenue inspector, complete with uneasy threats, awkward silences, and disgruntled arguments over custard creams. Whilst not all of that may be true, HMRC have really pushed the boat out this time, all in a frankly bizarre take on tax collection.

Don’t just take my word for it however, you can view HMRC’s Magna Carta right HERE (PDF).

With promises of visits from ‘Field Force Collectors’, our usually charming Revenue hint that not only will their forceful collectors ‘ensure that your debt is settled’, they may well also take a fancy to your home furniture.

‘Our Collectors have the right to seize your goods in order to settle your debt. If this happens, they will select the goods from your home or business to then sell at auction.’

For anyone worrying that the Revenue may physically break into your home however, never fear, they comfort us by saying ‘We cannot use force to enter your premises to distrain.’ They do admittedly follow that up with ‘…unless authorised by a Justice of the Peace.’

If hostility from the ironically named ‘Justice of Peace’ or the threat of a pair of the Revenue’s gangster squad is a fear of yours, or merely a laughable notion, then please feel free to comment in the box provided.

3 Comments

  • Simon says:

    To be fair, this is specifically about a visit from HMRC in a debt collection scenario, not an inspection, visit to discuss employment status or any of the things that probably worry contractors. The trick is not to let it get to this stage, I would think…

  • Steve says:

    Completely agree with above comment from Simon – this is a misleading article – quite lazy – and should be removed. This guidance is nothing to do with say an IR35 investigation for example – it describes what may happen if you fail to pay debt to the Revenue……very different!

  • Richard says:

    Yeah, this is a very silly article which reflects badly on your website. There’s nothing remotely “bizarre” about it, it isn’t a “minute by minute” description and there’s nothing here to justify calling them a “gangster squad”. Nor does this have anything to do with an inspection. It’s a straightfoward description of what happens if they seize goods to cover an unpaid debt.

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