General The following paragraphs, which are intended as a general guide only [and not a substitute for detailed tax advice], are based on current UK tax legislation and HM Revenue & Customs published practice [as at the last practicable date prior to the issue of this document, both of which are

“Tax enquiry” means— (a) an enquiry under section 9A or 12AC of TMA 1970 (enquiries into self-assessment returns for income tax and capital gains tax), including an enquiry by virtue of notice being deemed to be given under section 9A of that Act by virtue of section 12AC(6) of that Act, (b) an enquiry under paragraph 5 of Schedule 1A to that Act (enquiry into claims made otherwise than by being included in a return), (c) an enquiry under paragraph 24 of Schedule 18 to FA 1998 (enquiry into company tax return for corporation tax etc), including an enquiry by virtue of notice being deemed to be given under that paragraph by virtue of section 12AC(6) of TMA 1970, (d) an enquiry under paragraph 12 of Schedule 10 to FA 2003 (enquiries into SDLT returns), (e) an enquiry under paragraph 8 of Schedule 33 to FA 2013 (enquiries into annual tax for enveloped dwellings returns), or (f) a deemed enquiry under subsection (6).

This Practice Note summarises case studies and Q&As provided by the Law Society in its Criminal Finances Act 2017 guidance in relation to the offence of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion. It is intended for use by law firms. The Law Society’s Criminal Finances Act 2017 guidance was approved by the chancellor on 21 November 2018 but this approval does not extend to the questions and scenarios that accompany the guidance, which are summarised in this Practice Note. The failure-to-prevent facilitation of tax evasion offences There are two potential offences under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017), depending on whether the tax evaded is owed in the UK or in a foreign country. Each offence has three core stages, all of which must exist for criminal liability to arise: For more guidance, see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—compliance issues—The offences. There is only one defence, ie when the tax evasion facilitation offence was committed: • your organisation had in place such prevention procedures as was reasonable in

1 Assemble an incident team Assemble a tax evasion facilitation incident team promptly, including your head of legal/compliance, nominated officer, risk manager and head of HR. Appoint an individual to lead the team. 2 Consider reporting obligations You should consider taking legal advice before self-reporting to HMRC Prompt self-reporting to HMRC of a tax evasion facilitation incident does not guarantee immunity from prosecution, but it could be: —part of your defence, if there is liability for the failure-to-prevent offence; —taken into account by prosecutors when making decisions about prosecution; and —reflected in any associated penalties if the organisation is convicted. Also consider whether it is necessary to submit a suspicious

1 General information Date of review [Insert date] Person(s) conducting review [Insert name(s)] 2 Data Criteria Over the last 12 months Total number of internal reports of suspected tax evasion facilitation, if any [Insert number] Total number of actual incidents of tax evasion facilitation [Insert number] Total number of incidents of actual or suspected tax evasion facilitation reported to HMRC [Insert number] 3 Review and findings

This Checklist pulls together requirements in the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017) and associated guidance relating to tax evasion facilitation prevention procedures. It also contains best practice recommended actions. The Checklist signposts relevant Precedents you can use or adapt to comply with these requirements and recommendations. There is a section for you to mark whether you have completed the requirement and one to insert comments or note action points. For more guidance, see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—compliance issues. This Checklist adopts the six guiding principles set out in government guidance on the corporate offences of failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion, which sets out its expectations on compliance systems (HMRC guidance), namely: • risk assessment—see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—assessing risk • proportionality of risk-based prevention procedures—see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—proportionate risk-based prevention procedures • top-level commitment—see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—top-level commitment • due diligence—see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax

Why you need to manage this risk The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017) received royal assent on 27 April 2017. It introduced a corporate offences of failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion. There is only one defence—when the tax evasion facilitation offence was committed: • your organisation had in place such prevention procedures as was reasonable in all the circumstances to expect, or • it was not reasonable in all the circumstances for you to have any prevention procedures in place If you are well acquainted with the failure to prevent offence in the Bribery Act 2010, you will be on familiar ground. You need to make sure that your organisation has prevention procedures in place covering your employees, agents and intermediaries, unless you have conducted a risk assessment and concluded prevention procedures aren’t required. HMRC has published guidance on the corporate offence, which sets out six principles that should inform your prevention procedures (more echoes of the Bribery Act regime): • risk assessment • proportionality of risk-based prevention procedures • top-level

Question Multiple choice answers 1. What is the primary legislation the introduced the corporate offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion? (b) Criminal Finances Act 2017 2. What is not one of the three ingredients required for the failure to prevent tax evasion facilitation offence? (c) A financial loss to [Insert

1 How to use this test These questions are designed to test your understanding after your attendance at our training on avoiding tax evasion facilitation. After you have completed this test, please return it to [Insert name]. 2 General Name of person completing test [Insert name] Role [Insert role] Date [Insert date] 3 Multiple choice questions Circle the correct answer. Question Multiple choice answers 1. What is the primary legislation the introduced the corporate offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion? (a) Finance Act 2016(b) Criminal

This Practice Note covers the key tax evasion offences in Scotland, which are: • fraudulent evasion of value added tax (section 72 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994)) • fraudulent evasion of income tax (section 106A of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA 1970)) • fraudulent evasion of national insurance contributions (section 114 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (SSAA 1992)) • failure to prevent facilitation of UK tax evasion (section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017)) • failure to prevent facilitation of foreign tax evasion (CFA 2017, s 46) For an overview of the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in Scotland in relation to the investigation and prosecution of financial crime, see Practice Note: The investigation and prosecution of financial crime in Scotland, which also considers the relationship of these agencies with other bodies working in the area of financial crime in the UK. Fraudulent evasion of value added tax Elements of the offence An offence is committed when

Please click for an Excel version of this register. 1 General Course name/description [Insert course name/description] Reason

This Practice Note sets out general guidance on the tax implications of contributions to and payments from pension schemes and the types of pension orders that may be made in financial order proceedings. Specialist advice should be sought where necessary. Tax concessions Individuals and employers are encouraged to save for retirement by tax incentives on pension contributions. The main tax breaks are: • employees do not pay tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) on pension contributions paid by their employer except that only the first £2,000 per year of employee pension contributions through salary sacrifice will be exempt from NICs from April 2029 (see below) • all individuals receive tax relief (but not NIC relief) on their own pension contributions (subject to the annual allowance and (to 5 April 2024) to the lifetime allowance) up to the age of 75 years—basic rate relief is given at source with relief at the higher rates given as an adjustment to the person’s tax bill, for example, a personal pension contribution of £1,000 gross costs £800 when the payment is