Legislation – Finance Act 2026

if the tax adviser is an organisation, the name of each of the tax adviser’s relevant individuals (see section 226 (meaning of “relevant individual” etc));

(c)

a statement—

(i)

that the tax adviser meets the registration conditions (see section 227 (registration conditions)), or

(ii)

explaining why those conditions are not met;

(d)

any other information or evidence relating to the tax adviser or the registration conditions that may be specified in a notice published by HMRC.

(4)

A notice under subsection (3)(d) may, in particular, specify different types of information or evidence for different descriptions of tax advisers (for example, for tax advisers who are established in, or who otherwise have a connection with, a territory outside the United Kingdom).

226Meaning of “relevant individual” and “officer”

(1)

For the purposes of this Chapter “relevant individual”, in relation to a tax adviser that is an organisation with fewer than six officers, means—

(a)

each individual who works for the tax adviser and who plays a significant role in—

(i)

the making of decisions about how the whole or a substantial part of the tax adviser activities of the organisation are to be managed or organised, or

(ii)

the actual managing or organising of the whole or a substantial part of those activities, and

(b)

each officer of the tax adviser who is not within paragraph (a).

(2)

For the purposes of this Chapter “relevant individual”, in relation to a tax adviser that is an organisation with six or more officers, means—

(a)

each individual who works for the tax adviser and who plays a significant role in—

(i)

the making of decisions about how the whole or a substantial part of the tax adviser activities of the organisation are to be managed or organised, or

(ii)

the actual managing or organising of the whole or a substantial part of those activities, and

(b)

if the organisation has fewer than five officers within paragraph (a), each officer of the tax adviser nominated by the adviser to be a relevant individual (see section 227(4) (registration conditions)).

(3)

In this Chapter “officer” means—

(a)

in relation to a company, a director;

(b)

in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, a member who exercises functions of management with respect to it;

(c)

in relation to a body corporate not within paragraph (a) or (b), an officer of the body whose functions correspond to those of a director of a company;

(d)

in relation to a partnership, a partner;

(e)

in relation to any other organisation, a person who exercises functions of management with respect to it.

227Registration conditions

(1)

A reference in this Chapter to the registration conditions is to the following three conditions.

(2)

The first registration condition is that the tax adviser and, if the adviser is an organisation, each of the adviser’s relevant individuals—

(a)

does not have a relevant amount overdue or a relevant return outstanding,

(b)

is not subject to a decision by HMRC to refuse to deal with them,

(c)

is not subject to a relevant anti-avoidance measure,

(d)

has not, in the previous 12 months, had a relevant anti-avoidance penalty imposed on them,

(e)

is not subject to a relevant suspension or a relevant ineligibility order,

(f)

is not disqualified under the directors disqualification legislation or subject to a similar disqualification in a territory outside the United Kingdom,

(g)

does not have an insolvency practitioner acting in relation to them, and

(h)

does not have an unspent conviction for a relevant offence (see section 229 (offences)).

(3)

The second registration condition is that the adviser—

(a)

is registered with a supervisory authority for the purposes of anti-money laundering supervision, or

(b)

meets such conditions about applying to register with a supervisory authority for those purposes as may be specified in a notice published by HMRC.

(4)

The third registration condition is that, if the adviser is an organisation within section 226(2)(b) (organisations with six or more officers etc), the adviser has nominated as many officers to be relevant individuals as are necessary to ensure that the adviser has at least five relevant individuals who are officers.

228Registration conditions: interpretation

(1)

In section 227 and this section, “relevant amount”, other than in relation to a person within subsection (2), means an amount of—

(a)

tax payable to HMRC;

(b)

national insurance contributions;

(c)

devolved tax corresponding to a tax payable to HMRC or to national insurance contributions;

(d)

a civil penalty relating to a tax mentioned in paragraph (a) or (c) or to national insurance contributions;

(e)

a civil penalty (not within paragraph (d)) relating to an obligation contained in a provision made by or under any enactment relating to tax;

(f)

interest on an amount within paragraphs (a) to (e).

(2)

A person is within this subsection if, in the previous 12 months, the person—

(a)

was not liable to pay an amount within subsection (1)(a) to (f), and

(b)

was liable to pay an amount corresponding to an amount within subsection (1)(a) to (f) under the law of a territory outside the United Kingdom.

(3)

In relation to a person within subsection (2), “relevant amount” means an amount corresponding to an amount within subsection (1)(a) to (f) that the person is liable to pay—

(a)

under the law of the territory mentioned in subsection (2)(b), or

(b)

if the person was, during the 12-month period, liable to pay such an amount under the law of more than one territory outside the United Kingdom, under whichever of those territories the person earned the most income in relation to tax adviser activities during the 12-month period.

(4)

For the purposes of section 227(2)(a)—

(a)

a relevant amount is overdue if the amount has become due and payable but the amount has not been paid;

(b)

a relevant return is outstanding if the return is required to have been made or delivered but it has not been made or delivered.

(5)

But a relevant amount is not overdue if it is subject to a time to pay agreement that has not been broken.

(6)

For the purposes of section 227(2)(c), a person is subject to a “relevant anti-avoidance measure” if—

(a)

the person is subject to a stop notice given under section 236A of FA 2014 (power to give stop notices);

(b)

the person is subject to a monitoring notice given under section 244 of FA 2014 (monitoring notices: content and issuing);

(c)

information about the person has been published under paragraph 46 of Schedule 16 of F(No.2)A 2017 (penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance) and the information has not been withdrawn;

(d)

information identifying or about the person has been published under section 86(1) of FA 2022 (publication by HMRC of information about tax avoidance schemes) and the information has not been withdrawn.

(7)

In section 227 and this section “relevant anti-avoidance penalty” means a penalty under any of the following—

(a)

paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 35 to FA 2014 in respect of a failure to comply with section 236B(1) of that Act (stop notices);

(b)

paragraph 1 of Schedule 16 to F(No.2)A 2017 (penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance);

(c)

section 162 (ban on promotion of certain tax arrangements).

(8)

For the purposes of section 227(2)(d), if a relevant anti-avoidance penalty is imposed on a person and the penalty is at any time subsequently set aside or otherwise cancelled, the penalty is to be treated from that time as if it was not imposed on the person.

(9)

For the purposes of section 227(2)(e), a person is subject to a relevant suspension if the person’s registration under this Chapter is suspended under section 232 (suspension of registration).

(10)

In section 227 and this section—

“devolved tax” means a devolved tax within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998 (see section 80A of that Act) or the Government of Wales Act 2006 (see section 116A of that Act);

“disqualified under the directors disqualification legislation” has the same meaning as in the Companies Act 2006 (see section 159A of that Act);

“insolvency practitioner” means—

(a)

a person who acts as an insolvency practitioner within the meaning of section 388 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or article 3 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, or

(b)

a person in a territory outside the United Kingdom who exercises functions similar to those of a person mentioned in paragraph (a);

“relevant ineligibility order” means a temporary or permanent ineligibility order issued under section 236 or 237 (ineligibility orders);

“relevant return” means a return relating to a relevant amount;

“supervisory authority” means—

(a)

a supervisory authority within the meaning given by regulation 3(1) of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/692), or

(b)

an authority in a territory outside the United Kingdom which exercises functions similar to those of an authority mentioned in paragraph (a);

“time to pay agreement” means an agreement between HMRC and a person that payment of an amount may, subject to the person complying with any conditions determined by HMRC, be deferred for a period.

229Registration conditions: offences

(1)

The reference in section 227(2)(h) to a relevant offence is to any of the following offences—

(a)

an offence under section 20BB of TMA 1970 (falsification of documents);

(b)

an offence under CEMA 1979;

(c)

an offence under section 112 (false representations for obtaining benefit) or section 114 (offences relating to contributions) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992;

(d)

an offence under VATA 1994;

(e)

an offence under section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (offence of fraud);

(f)

an offence under CRCA 2005;

(g)

an offence under section 45 or 46 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion offences);

(h)

an offence at common law of cheating the public revenue;

(i)

an offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom consisting of being knowingly concerned in, or in taking steps with a view to, the fraudulent evasion of tax;

(j)

an offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (i);

(k)

an offence under the law of a territory outside the United Kingdom which would be an offence otherwise referred to in this section if the conduct constituting that offence was carried out in any part of the United Kingdom.

(2)

For the purposes of subsection (1)(k), an act punishable under the law of a territory outside the United Kingdom constitutes an offence under that law, however it is described in that law.

230Registration of tax advisers etc

(1)

Where a tax adviser applies to be registered under this Chapter in accordance with section 225 (application for registration), an officer of Revenue and Customs must—

(a)

decide whether to approve the application;

(b)

notify the tax adviser of the decision and—

(i)

where the application is approved, of the date from which the registration has effect, and

(ii)

where the application is not approved, of the reasons for the decision.

(2)

The officer must approve the application if satisfied that the tax adviser meets the registration conditions.

(3)

The officer may otherwise approve the application only if—

(a)

the tax adviser fails to meet the registration conditions solely by virtue of the adviser, or a relevant individual of the adviser, not meeting the condition in section 227(2)(a) (amount of tax etc overdue), and

(b)

having regard to the relevant amount that is overdue or (as the case may be) the circumstances of the outstanding relevant return, the officer considers it appropriate to approve the application.

In this subsection “relevant amount” and “relevant return” have the same meaning as in section 227 (registration conditions).

(4)

An officer of Revenue and Customs may cancel the registration of a registered tax adviser if—

(a)

the adviser requests the cancellation, or

(b)

the tax adviser has been wound up or dissolved or has died.