Finance Act 2020

Restrictions on assessments

20 (1) If a DST return has been delivered in respect of the accounting period, the power to make a discovery assessment—

(a) may only be made in the two cases specified in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), and

(b) may not be made in the circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (5).

(2) The first case is where the situation mentioned in paragraph 19(1) was brought about carelessly or deliberately on the part of—

(a) a relevant person, or

(b) a person acting on behalf of a relevant person.

(3) The second case is where an officer of Revenue and Customs, at the time the officer—

(a) ceased to be entitled to give a notice of enquiry into the return, or

(b) completed an enquiry into the return,

could not have been reasonably expected, on the basis of the information made available to the officer before that time, to be aware of the situation mentioned in paragraph 19(1).

(4) For this purpose information is regarded as made available to the officer of Revenue and Customs if—

(a) it is contained in the DST return for the accounting period in question or either of the two immediately preceding accounting periods,

(b) it is contained in any documents produced or information provided by the responsible member for the purposes of an enquiry into any such return, or

(c) it is information the existence of which, and the relevance of which as regards the situation mentioned in paragraph 19(1)—

(i) could reasonably be expected to be inferred by the officer of Revenue and Customs from information falling within paragraph (a) or (b), or

(ii) are notified in writing to an officer of Revenue and Customs by the responsible member or another person acting on the responsible member’s behalf.

(5) No discovery assessment may be made if—

(a) the situation mentioned in paragraph 19(1) is attributable to a mistake in the return as to the basis on which the tax liability ought to have been calculated, and

(b) the return was in fact made on the basis or in accordance with the practice generally prevailing at the time it was made.