Accelerated payment notices vary in clarity, finds report

Accelerated payment notices (APNs) and follower notices (FNs) do not always contain all necessary information include errors and do not allow a recourse for recipients according to research carried out on behalf of HMRC. Equally the report found there may be less need for them in future because of the decreased use of avoidance schemes.

According to evidence from the respondents – a mix of consultants lawyers and accountants – who dealt with APN and FN cases on behalf of clients between 2012 and 2018 HMRC sometimes failed to send an advance warning letter before issuing the notice. When it was received the time between the advance warning and the notice itself varied from a day to months in between. As a result some clients and agents were unprepared – or had little time – to deal with it.

While the format...