HMRC has concluded its largest compound settlement for a Russian sanctions violation, with a UK exporter paying a penalty of £1.16m in May 2025. The settlement addresses breaches of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/855) committed when the company made goods available to Russia. HMRC noted that this action is part of broader international sanctions that have deprived Russia of US$450bn in funding following its invasion of Ukraine. The notice emphasises that breaches of sanctions may result in significant financial penalties or criminal prosecution, and it advises businesses to ensure strict compliance with sanctions and licensing requirements.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed that £35 million has been added to State Pension pots through voluntary National Insurance contributions since April 2024. The newly implemented digital service has facilitated 37,000 individuals in topping up over 68,000 years of contributions. HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are reminding the public that there are only two months remaining until the 5 April 2025 deadline to address gaps in National Insurance records dating back to 2006. Following this date, voluntary contributions will be limited to the previous six tax years, aligning with standard time limits. The online service, launched in April 2024, has streamlined the process for checking State Pension forecasts and making voluntary contributions, with over 4.3 million people utilising the system to date.

For more general information regarding share incentive plans (SIPs), see Practice Note: What is a SIP? For more general information on save as you earn (SAYE) schemes, see Practice Note: How SAYE schemes work and key features. Legislation governing SIPs and SAYEs—registration and filing requirements The legislative requirements for SIPs and SAYE schemes are each set out under a separate schedule to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003), with ITEPA 2003, Sch 2 applying to SIPs and ITEPA 2003, Sch 3 applying to SAYE schemes. In this Practice Note, these are referred to below as ‘Schedule 2’ or ‘Schedule 3’, as applicable—or to ‘the applicable schedule of ITEPA 2003’. The legislation governing the registration and filing requirements for SIPs and SAYE schemes is as follows: • for SIPs, it is contained in ITEPA 2003, Sch 2 Pt 10, paras 81A–81K, and • for SAYE schemes, it is contained in ITEPA 2003, Sch 3 Pt 8, paras 40A–45 The HMRC registration process In

Law360: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) should investigate a German-owned garage door manufacturer for violating sanctions by importing products from Belarus into the UK, but instead authorities brushed off the case and now the company might receive a licence, a MP said.

Law360: The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) has upheld a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision that a locum urologist's contract with a hospital qualifies as employment for tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) purposes, despite an earlier decision misconstruing the nature of the arrangement.

Law360, London: The chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) told Parliament on 16 December 2024 that the British tax authority has reduced the level of tax noncompliance in response to claims it needs a better strategy on tax evasion.

Following discussions with stakeholder groups, HMRC has issued an update on the interpretation of section 61O of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003), which sets out the conditions that must be met for the regime to apply where the intermediary in question is a company.

Law360, London: Individuals who moved to the UK in recent years have until the end of January 2028 to file for tax relief under the foreign income and capital gains regime, HMRC said in new guidance published on 7 April 2026.

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to discovery assessment time limits and the correction of errors: on Legislation Day, 13 July 2026, draft legislation was published for inclusion in Finance Bill 2027 (also known as Finance Bill 2026–27) to introduce a new statutory duty for taxpayers to take reasonable steps to correct inaccuracies in documents submitted to HMRC once they become aware of them. As part of these measures, it is proposed that section 118(6) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 will be amended so that a failure to take reasonable steps to inform HMRC of an inaccuracy in information provided to HMRC may result in the inaccuracy being treated as deliberate, rather than careless, with potential material implications for the discovery assessment time limits that accordingly apply. For more information, see News Analysis: Legislation Day: Draft Finance Bill 2027—Tax analysis. By way of background relating to this development, on 15 February 2024, the government published a call for evidence entitled ‘The Tax Administration Framework Review: enquiry and assessment powers, penalties, safeguards’ inviting views on how

Law360: The government has confirmed that it is pushing ahead with its plans to apply inheritance tax (IHT) to wealth transferred through pensions in a move that experts say marks a ‘seismic’ change for the sector.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that a competitive procurement exercise for the next phase of the Trader Support Service (TSS) will begin by early 2025, with the aim to help businesses move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Additionally, the current TSS has been extended to the end of 2025 as the implementation of the Windsor Framework progresses.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published Pension Schemes Newsletter 183 (July 2026), confirming that it expects to lay further statutory instruments later in 2026 to make consequential amendments to the Registered Pension Schemes (Splitting of Schemes) Regulations 2006, 2006, SI 2006/569 and the Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) Regulations 2004, SI 2004/2543 as part of the implementation of inheritance tax on pensions. The amendments are intended to ensure that the new information requirements apply to scheme administrators of sub-schemes and that estates containing notional pension property can continue to qualify as excepted estates for inheritance tax on pensions reporting where the relevant conditions are met. HMRC also confirms that it will publish a further technical note later in summer 2026 covering withholding and payment notices, scenarios illustrating the new inheritance tax on pensions process, and common queries raised by industry stakeholders, and states that it will continue to provide updates on the implementation of the policy in future Pension schemes newsletters.