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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

Fish and chip shop

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm
Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Fri Mar 29, 2013 1:35 pm

Hi all im posting this topic because i have concerns as to why HMRC have targeted me.

info they require as in local compliance check letter. For check of company tax return

They have also wanted to meet me at my shop premises, but i declined.. At the accountants office they took the reuired info with them should i allowed this? Any advice would be grateful. By the way ive already contacted members from this site externally as to my concern but also need more advice?? :(

They also wanted to visit the shop premises
Check of company tax return for period ended 30 june 2011

What i will be checking(HMRC)
Business income
Expenses
Directors accounts.

We also need following documents
All records from which sales figure was calculated. This should include order tickets till rolls, card machine summaries cash books etc
credit card statements
bank statements with paying in book
breakdown cost of sales
purcjase invoices and receipts to support cost of goods and other claims in the accounts
wage record
details of whom rent is payable too
details of assets covered by the annual investment allowance
detailed analysis of the directors loan accounts for the year
loan statements reflecting the reduction inn the outstanding loan..

Any advice or guidance be much appreciated.

King_Maker
Posts:6538
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:22 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby King_Maker » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:33 pm

Are unhappy with how your accountant is dealing with the matter?

If so, change your accountant or ask him/her to engage the services of a Tax Investigations specialist.

Be prepared for possible extra fees, even if you're "innocent". If matters drag on, or stances become entrenched, I would consider referring the matter to the Tribunals Service (Tax Chamber).

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:09 pm

he is a chartered accountant but not the best adviser as i i think its down to the low 52% G.P on the accounts but he says it should be o.k. thw previous year was 59% i dont know what HMRC expect is a excepitable G.P in my trade. im knoy sure but may be that has flagged them. I know they are targeting chip shops in my area but my books are o.k Can they go into my personal affairs also or are they only allowed to look into the company itself??

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:11 pm

sorry about spelling mistakes keyboard playing up

AvocadoK
Posts:1232
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:46 pm
Location:Lancashire

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby AvocadoK » Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:39 pm

My sources indicate that GP ratios in the range 50 - 65% would be expected, so yours seems to have dipped into the lower range. HMRC will want to know why this is, so you should give that some serious thought. A cynical inspector will suspect that not all takings have been recorded in the accounts. In conjunction with your accountant, you need to analyse the reasons for the fall. Maybe the price of fish has gone up but you have not put your prices up. If so, you need to calculate the effect of this on your GP. General 'flannel' will not 'wash.'
At the accountants office they took the reuired info with them should i allowed this?
Most of the info is stuff that HMRC is entitled to have. If you don't give it voluntarily, they can issue a formal notice requiring it. The notice cannot be appealed against insofar as it relates to business records. So there is little point in resisting the informal request.

There is nothing unusual about the list of info that HMRC require. They are entitled to carry out a full investigation, and that is what HMRC is there to do. So try not to take it too personally. They have a job to do, and they will not close the case until they are happy they have dealt with all their concerns.
Can they go into my personal affairs also or are they only allowed to look into the company itself??
Yes, but they should only do this if they have a good reason. For example, if the records have any holes in them, HMRC will use that as a reason to look at your personal records. You can appeal against a notice requiring personal records, but the appeal will only succeed if the request is unreasonable (e.g. where there is nothing to indicate there is anything wrong with the accounts or records).

Uncomfortable as it is, you can only resolve this by engaging with the process, so you should expect to have long meetings with your accountant (separately from HMRC). Meetings with HMRC are often useful too, provided you are properly prepared for them. That's one reason for using a specialist who does this type of work on a regular basis.

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:51 pm

any specialist in the fish and chip shop trade?

also do they have to open a separate enquiry into my personal affairs?

AvocadoK
Posts:1232
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:46 pm
Location:Lancashire

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby AvocadoK » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:58 pm

A specialist in tax investigations would suffice.

Any enquiry into your personal affairs would be carried out by the same inspector at the same time, as part of the same investigation. Technically, tho, it is a separate enquiry.

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:18 pm

Any reccomendations on specialist??

AvocadoK
Posts:1232
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:46 pm
Location:Lancashire

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby AvocadoK » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:32 am

Try looking up wamtaxltd (on this forum or on the web)

jakedamuss
Posts:15
Joined:Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:51 pm

Re: Fish and chip shop

Postby jakedamuss » Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:13 pm

thanx


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