NAT 84/09
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is giving taxpayers with
offshore investments more time to come forward under the New
Disclosure Opportunity (NDO).
The registration deadline has been moved from 30 November to 4
January 2010 as some banks need more time to contact their
offshore customers
The NDO is the last such opportunity for taxpayers to obtain
favourable terms when they tell HMRC about offshore investments
that they have never disclosed in the past. HMRC is currently
receiving information from 308 banks in the UK about their
offshore customers which will be used to ensure that everyone pays
the right tax.
Dave Hartnett, HMRC’s Permanent Secretary for Tax said:
“We know that some bank customers will not be contacted by their
banks in good time for the original deadline of 30 November so in
the interests of fairness we have decided to extend our deadline
by a month to 4 January.
“I strongly urge anyone who has been hiding taxable assets
offshore to go on line and register. The NDO is voluntary but from
the start of the New Year we will begin to investigate those who
were eligible to use the NDO but instead buried their heads in the
sand. Don’t let that happen to you.
“This is a great way to start the New Year – with the knowledge
that your tax affairs are in order and the certainty that the
penalty will be capped at 10 percent.”
Notes to Editors
1. To use the NDO a notification of the intention to disclose
must be made to HMRC.
2. Notifications must be made with HMRC by 4 January 2010.
3. Disclosures can then be made:
§ on paper to 31 January 2010
§ electronically to 12 March 2010.
4. The penalty rate of 10% will apply to those who were not
written to by HMRC under the Offshore Disclosure Facility (ODF) in 2007.
5. Those to whom HMRC offered the 10% rate in 2007 but did not
complete the ODF procedure now have until 3January 2010 to do so
with unpaid tax attracting a penalty of 20%.
6. The ODF ran from April to November 2007.
7. Once this disclosure window closes on 12 March 2010, those
taxpayers who have not come forward but are found to have unpaid
tax liabilities will face penalties of at least 30% rising to 100%
of the tax evaded and risk criminal prosecution.
8. On line notifications can be made on line at https://ndo.hmrc.gov.uk/ndo
Contacts:
HMRC Out of Hours
Phone: 07860 359544
NDS.HMRC@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Patrick O'Brien
Phone: 020 7147 2318
patrick.o'brien@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk