Guidelines for Compliance

HMRC has recently published two new Guidelines for Compliance (GfC): one on Transfer Pricing - Help with common risks in transfer pricing approaches – GfC7, and the other on VAT compliance controls - Help with VAT compliance controls — Guidelines for Compliance GfC8.

These GfCs can also be found on the Guidelines for Compliance collection page on GOV.UK. This page explains that GfC’s offer HMRC’s view on complex, widely misunderstood or novel risks that can occur across tax regimes, including guidelines for employers, corporation tax and VAT.

The page also notes that GfCs were announced as part of the review of tax administration for large business conducted in 2021. However, although this is where they started, the GfC’s that have been published apply to all businesses, regardless of their size. We have raised this with HMRC, who have confirmed that they will update the relevant page on GOV.UK as it is no longer current to refer to the review of tax administration for large businesses. In the meantime, please be aware that these GfCs are available and are aimed at all taxpayers and agents considering the areas that they address.

We continue to engage with HMRC on the GfCs as these are developed.