Tax administration, ethics and professional responsibilities
Administration questions reward precise knowledge of deadlines and powers. Self assessment: register by 5 October following the tax year, file paper returns by 31 October or online by 31 January, pay by 31 January with payments on account due 31 January and 31 July. Corporation tax is payable nine months and one day after the period end, with returns due twelve months after the period end. Late filing penalties escalate (£100, then £10 per day, then 5% or £300), and late payment penalties arise at 5% on the 30-day, six-month and twelve-month anniversaries, with interest running throughout.
HMRC powers include compliance checks, Schedule 36 information notices, discovery assessments, closure notices and the contractual disclosure facility. Appeal to HMRC within 30 days, request a statutory review, then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Assessment time limits: four years for careless behaviour, six for deliberate, twenty for failure to notify, and twelve years for offshore matters. The error penalty regime is behaviour-based: reasonable care 0%, careless up to 30%, deliberate 70%, deliberate and concealed 100%, with suspension and disclosure reductions.
The professional conduct layer is examined as ethics: the PCRT fundamental principles (integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, professional behaviour), engagement letters, conflicts of interest, client money rules, and AML obligations including customer due diligence, the MLRO role and suspicious activity reports. Know DOTAS, the GAAR and the enabler penalty, plus the corporate criminal offence for failing to prevent facilitation of tax evasion.
Trap: an agent must not disclose a client error without consent except where compelled; the correct route is to advise the client to make a disclosure, and consider ceasing to act.