PART 4

INVESTIGATORY POWERS OF WRA
CHAPTER 2

POWERS TO REQUIRE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS

Power to obtain information to enable a person’s identity to be ascertained
92
1
WRA may issue a notice (an “identification notice”) requiring a person to provide relevant information about another person (“the taxpayer”) only if the tribunal has approved the issuing of the notice.
2
An application for approval may be made without notice.
3
The tribunal may approve the issuing of the identification notice only if it is satisfied that conditions 1 to 6 are met.
4
Condition 1 is that WRA requires the information for the purpose of checking the tax position of the taxpayer.
5
Condition 2 is that it is reasonable to require the person to provide the relevant information.
6
Condition 3 is that WRA—
a
does not know the taxpayer’s identity, but
b
holds information from which the taxpayer’s identity can be ascertained.
7
Condition 4 is that WRA has grounds for believing—
a
that the person will be able to ascertain the identity of the taxpayer from the information held by WRA, and
b
that the person obtained relevant information about the taxpayer in the course of carrying on a business.
8
Condition 5 is that the taxpayer’s identity cannot readily be ascertained by other means from the information held by WRA.
9
Condition 6 is that nothing in sections 97 to 102 prevents WRA from requiring the person to provide the relevant information.
10
In this section, “relevant information” means all or any of the following—
a
name,
b
last known address, and
c
date of birth (in the case of an individual).
11
This section also applies for the purpose of checking the tax position of a class of persons (and references to the taxpayer are to be read accordingly).