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With effect from last month, a business that applies to HMRC for time to pay a debt of £1 million or higher may, unless the facts are straightforward, have to engage, at its own expense, a suitably qualified professional adviser to carry out an independent business review in support of its request.
The Revenue decided that the best way to operate the review process would be to form an independent business review panel.
Successful panellists had to meet certain criteria: for example, have a true national coverage, be regulated by a recognised professional body within the UK, have a good compliance record with HMRC, be able to demonstrate flexibility, be able to show an ability to deal with complex structures and large, financially stressed businesses, have access to specialist advice on issues that arise during the review, and be able to provide a dedicated contact responsible for the work.
The following firms met the required criteria.
- Baker Tilly
- BDO
- Begbies Traynor
- Deloitte
- Ernst & Young
- Grant Thornton
- KPMG
- Mazars
- Moore Stephens
- PKF
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Smith & Williamson
HMRC confirm that inclusion on the panel is not permanent, and non-selection on this occasion will not rule out selection in the future. The process will be subject to regular six month reviews.
