HMRC ramps up record checks on firms

The checks were piloted earlier this year, focusing on small and medium-sized businesses, and found 44% of firms visited had issues with their record-keeping, with 12% having 'seriously inadequate' records. The programme is now being extended to areas across the UK, while the number of full-time staff employed on it will rise from 30 to 120. Although HMRC will only levy a record-keeping penalty in the most extreme cases of poor record-keeping, in the long term it intends to issue penalties of up to £3,000 for serious inadequacies in record-keeping. Richard Summersgill, director of ...