The Income and Corporation Taxes (Electronic Communications)(Amendment) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Under regulation 3(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/282) (“the Electronic Communications Regulations 2003”) the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“the Commissioners”) are permitted to use electronic communications for the purposes mentioned in regulation 2(1) if the consent of the recipient has been provided and has not subsequently been withdrawn. Regulation 5(1) establishes a presumption of effective delivery in respect of information delivered by electronic communications if all the prescribed conditions relating to the use of electronic communications are satisfied.

These Regulations amend the Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 with the following effect.

A new definition of ‘secure mailbox’ is inserted into regulation 1 of the Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.

The list of specified statutory provisions to which the Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 applies is extended to include: sections 8B (withdrawal by HMRC of notice under section 8 or 8A), 9ZA (amendment of personal or trustee return by taxpayer), 9ZB (correction of personal or trustee return by Revenue), 12AAA (withdrawal by HMRC of notice under section 12AA), 12ABA (amendment of partnership return by taxpayer), 12ABB (correction of partnership return by Revenue), 28A (completion of enquiry into personal or trustees return), 28B (completion of enquiry into a partnership return), 28C (determination of tax where no return delivered), 30B (amendment of partnership statement where loss of tax discovered), 59C (surcharges on unpaid income tax and capital gains tax)(1), and 100 (determination of penalties by officer of Board) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (c. 9); paragraph 13 of Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2007 (c. 11)(penalties for errors); paragraphs 1 and 46 of Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 (c. 9) (information and inspection powers); paragraphs 17A, 17B and 18 of Schedule 55 (penalty for failure to make returns etc) and paragraph 11 of Schedule 56 (penalty for failure to make payments on time) to the Finance Act 2009 (c. 10).

The Commissioners may issue a specific or general direction to provide a mechanism for a taxpayer to provide their consent to the Commissioners delivering information by the means of electronic communications and when such consent, or withdrawal of consent, shall take effect. This amendment does not apply to information delivered in respect of a company tax return.

The presumption of effective delivery applies to information delivered by the Commissioners to a secure mailbox if the conditions which relate to the use of the secure mailbox are satisfied.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument will be published on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/tiins.htm.

(1)

In so far as section 59C of the Taxes Management Act 1970 remains in force in respect of the tax year 2009/10 and earlier years.