Last year I was engaged by a client who had been trading for 9 years without submitting a tax return. I filed his outstanding returns from 1999 and told him to expect an enquiry. Lo and behold, one week before the 15 month deadline from submission of the overdue returns, the letter opening the enquiry dropped onto the doormat. The letter also informed me that the tax inspector's PAYE colleague was opening a review also. The letter went on that they will both "need to speak to him."
I duly gathered the books and records and arranged to drop them off to the inspector and have a quick 5 minute meeting (I personally like to see who I'm dealing with). In the informal chat, the inspector let drop that this enquiry was a guinea-pig test, and the idea was that after the accounts were reviewed, my client would "come in for a meeting, and when I've (the SA Tax inspector)dealt with my aspects, I can slide the file along the desk to my PAYE colleague, who can finish her review."
To be truthful, he looked a little relieved when I told him that he is unlikely to meet my client, as I've always handled enquiries by correspondance or by attending the meetings alone, and even I wouldn't be attending a meeting to deal with two "enquiries" at the same time.
Has anyone else out there been approached in the same way?
Mike Doyle
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IS there any difference between these
i would have thought that it might be a little difficult for your client to avoid meeting the PAYE bod