Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 956

Inspector's right to make enquiries and amend assessments

Section 956 dealt with an inspector's right to make enquiries into the accuracy of a tax return, including the time limits on such enquiries and the chargeable person's right of appeal where enquiries are made outside those time limits. This section was deleted by Finance Act 2012.

• An inspector making or amending an assessment could act on the information in the chargeable person's return but was not prevented from making further enquiries or taking further actions to verify accuracy.
• Enquiries and actions to verify return information could only be made outside a four-year period from the end of the relevant tax year or accounting period where the inspector had reasonable grounds to believe the return was completed fraudulently or negligently.
• A chargeable person aggrieved by an enquiry or action made outside the four-year period could appeal to the Appeal Commissioner within 30 days, with all actions arising from the disputed enquiry suspended pending the outcome.
• If the appeal succeeded, the inspector was precluded from further pursuit of the enquiry or action; if the appeal failed, the inspector could continue.