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View the related practice notes about MTIC fraud

Cheating the public revenue

Offence of cheating the public revenueThe offence of cheating the public revenue is a common law offence triable only on indictment. This means that, where the public revenue is the victim, the fraud will always be tried in the Crown Court, even though, had it been perpetrated privately between individuals, it might be suitable for summary trial.Section 32(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968) preserves the offence while abolishing the offence of cheating in general. In R v Dosanjh, the Court of Appeal determined that it is reasonably to be assumed that Parliament has deliberately left the common law offence untouched by statutory changes in this area because it recognised that it was appropriate to do so for the protection of the public. In that case, the Court of Appeal held there was good reason for charging the common law offence in relation to 'missing trader intra-community' (MTIC) frauds (see further: Missing trader intra-community (MTIC) or carousel fraud).The offence itself covers a broad category of offending and is widely...

HMRC inspection powers

HMRC inspection powers This Practice Note is about HMRC's powers to inspect business premises in order to check a person's tax position, and the restrictions on those powers. HMRC’s powers to obtain information and documents are covered in Practice Note: HMRC information powers. Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority have equivalent inspection powers in relation to the devolved taxes. Wider-reaching powers are available to HMRC where fraud is suspected. For more details, see Practice Note: HMRC criminal investigations and dawn raids. HMRC may also exercise inspection powers in its anti-money laundering capacity. For more details, see Practice Note: HMRC guidance under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 [Archived]. What are the purposes for which HMRC may use its inspection powers? HMRC may use its inspection powers if this is reasonably required for checking a person's tax position. Tax position is widely defined and includes: • past, present and future tax liabilities • penalties, and • tax claims, elections, applications and notices According to HMRC guidance, 'reasonably required' means...