Legislation – Finance Act 2026

Before issuing a notice under section 167 (promoter action notice) in respect of a certified promoter, an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs must—

(a)

provide the certified promoter with a copy of the certification, and

(b)

allow the certified promoter 30 days from the date of provision to make representations to HMRC.

167Promoter action notices

(1)

An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may issue a notice to a person if the officer reasonably suspects that—

(a)

the person (the “recipient”) is providing goods or services to a certified promoter (the “target”), and

(b)

the goods or services are being procured or used wholly or partly in connection with the promotion of arrangements in respect of which the target is certified.

(2)

For the purposes of this Chapter, a “promoter action notice” means a notice issued under subsection (1).

(3)

A promoter action notice may, for the purpose of impeding the target’s promotion of the arrangements, require the recipient of the notice to—

(a)

stop providing some or all of the goods or services,

(b)

provide the goods or services subject to specified conditions, or

(c)

take specified steps in relation to the provision of the goods or services.

(4)

A promoter action notice must identify the target and specify—

(a)

the goods or services in respect of which it is issued,

(b)

the requirements applicable under subsection (3), and

(c)

the time by which the recipient must comply with the requirements under subsection (3).

(5)

A time specified under subsection (4)(c)—

(a)

must be the end of—

(i)

the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the notice is issued, or

(ii)

such longer period as an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs considers appropriate, and

(b)

takes precedence over any statutory or regulatory requirement to provide a period of notice before terminating or modifying a contract.

(6)

A promoter action notice may not—

(a)

require the recipient to monitor or assess whether or how particular goods or services are being procured or used in connection with the promotion or arrangements,

(b)

restrict the provision of services that provide access to the internet, or

(c)

restrict the provision of legal or auditing services.

(7)

An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may withdraw a promoter action notice.

(8)

The recipient is not liable in damages in respect of anything done, or omitted to be done, in good faith for the purposes of complying with a promoter action notice.

168Preliminary notices

(1)

An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may issue a notice to a person who the officer reasonably suspects is providing goods or services as described in section 167(1).

(2)

A notice under this section must—

(a)

identify the target referred to in section 167(1);

(b)

give reasons for the suspicion referred to in subsection (1);

(c)

allow the recipient of the notice a period of 30 days from the date of the notice to make representations to HMRC.

(3)

A notice under this section may request information from the recipient.

(4)

A disclosure of information by the recipient in response to a request under subsection (3) does not breach—

(a)

any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or

(b)

any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(5)

A person who receives a notice under this section may not disclose the existence or contents of the notice to—

(a)

the target identified in the notice, or

(b)

any person who might reasonably be expected to disclose the existence or contents of the notice to the target.

(6)

An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may withdraw a notice under this section.

169Disclosure of information by HMRC

(1)

An authorised officer of Revenue and Customs may for the purposes of this Chapter disclose—

(a)

information relating to the target identified in a promoter action notice to the recipient of the notice, or

(b)

information relating to the target identified in a notice issued under section 168 (preliminary notices) to the recipient of the notice.

(2)

A person to whom an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs discloses information under this section—

(a)

may use it only for the purpose for which it was disclosed, and

(b)

may not further disclose it without the consent of HMRC (which may be general or specific).

(3)

Where a person contravenes subsection (2)(b) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity—

(a)

is specified in the disclosure, or

(b)

can be deduced from it,

section 19 of CRCA 2005 (offence of wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to the disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.

(4)

Nothing in this section limits the circumstances in which information may be disclosed under section 18(2) of CRCA 2005 or under any other enactment or rule of law.

170Appeal against a decision to issue a promoter action notice

(1)

A recipient of a promoter action notice may appeal to the tribunal against a decision to issue the notice on the grounds that—

(a)

the recipient is not providing the goods or services specified in the notice to the target identified in the notice;

(b)

the goods or services are not being used wholly or partly in connection with the arrangements referred to in section 167(1).

(2)

Notice of an appeal must—

(a)

state the ground of appeal, and

(b)

be given in writing to HMRC before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the promoter action notice was issued.

(3)

The provisions of Part 5 of TMA 1970 relating to appeals have effect in relation to appeals under this section as they have effect in relation to an appeal against an assessment to income tax.

(4)

In this section, the “tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under the Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal.