Tax Investigation Specialists Navigation

• Local Tax District, the SCI & CIF offices
• Why Cameron Baum
• Why investigations start
• Voluntary Disclosures
• Are you at risk of a Prosecution
• Understanding the SCI Inland Revenue opening Letter
• Inland Revenue: Sources of Information
• Tax Investigation FAQ
• Insurance to cover tax investigation fees

Specialist Areas

• Tax Investigations
• Audit, Accounts & Tax
• Outsourced Finance Director
• Financial Planning

Business Services

• Audit
• Bookkeeping & accounting
• Business planning
• Business start-up
• Company secretarial
• Corporate tax planning
• Payroll
• VAT

Personal Services

• Estate planning
• Personal tax planning
• Retirement strategies
• Self assessment
• Trusts & executorships

Tax District Offices

Local Tax District Offices (TDO’s) are responsible for most taxpayers' income tax, corporation tax and PAYE/NI affairs. During the year ended 31st March 2003 the Inland Revenue conducted 230,000 enquiries into the affairs of personal taxpayers and another 82,000 into companies.

The SCI

The Serious Civil Investigation Office (SCI), formerly Special Compliance Office (SCO), is the specialist investigation unit of the HM Revenue & Customs, formerly the Inland Revenue. It handles complex cases of individuals and companies including larger cases of suspected serious tax fraud and is also responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions.

The SCI deals with the most serious cases of tax avoidance and evasion. In most cases however, prosecutions do not occur. The SCI then has responsibility for negotiating financial settlements.

CIF Offices

In September 2005, H M Revenue & Customs issued new Code of Practice 9 Procedures which are known as the CIF (Criminal Investigation of Fraud).

The key differences to the way the old Hansard procedure were conducted were:

• No taped interviews under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• Guaranteed no risk of prosecution for the tax offences which are under enquiry.

In other respects, these cases of suspected serious fraud will run as before, and HMRC have been eager to convey a "business as usual" message. However, in mid-2006, new CIF offices were opened up around the country. These are not part of SCI but will be the principal offices which run Code of Practice 9 cases. Only the largest and most serious of cases will be run by SCI.

Cameron Baum is ideally placed to act for you in respect of investigations carried out by the new CIF Teams. Uniquely, we have many years of experience dealing with inspectors from local districts and SCI, precisely the mix of team that the CIF units are likely to have.

Investigations which are undertaken by the SCI and CIF are a specialist area. Cameron Baum is one of only a handful of firms in the country with relevant experience and proven success of dealing with such investigations.