Time expiration limits on self assessments and enquires

[webberg]

I was a member of an EBT loan arrangement from 2005 - 2009. I received a 9a enquiry letter in 2007 for the return year 2005/2006. I passed this letter onto my employer who said that there was nothing to worry about and that they would clear things up with HMRC. I have heard nothing since on this enquiry from either my employer or HMRC.

I stopped using the arrangements in 2009 and have never entered into anything like that since. In 2012 I received a 'discovery assessment' for return year 2008/2009. Again, I passed this onto my (by now ex-) employer who, once again told me that I had nothing to worry about and that I had nothing to pay.

However, time has gone on and on and on and, as one who knows little about how such things turn out and with no resolution in sight, I decided to sign-up for the Contractor Loan Settlement scheme and have agreed a loan settlement with HMRC which I have to pay in the next couple months.

Reading this forum, I'm now not sure whether HMRC were right to issue a discovery on the same arrangement 5 years after they'd raised an enquiry. At the same time, I just want to be able to sleep at night so, if I pay up for the year 'in discovery', can I get on with the rest of my life or will this come back in 10/15/20/100 years time to haunt me once again?

Thanks for listening.

If you've accepted the CLSO, then all periods to 2010/11 are cleared away and unless you have committed some form of fraud, HMRC cannot revisit those periods.

For 2011/12 onwards, the dice is yet to be rolled.

[underthecosh]

Thank you for putting my mind at rest, sir. No, it was at the end of 2009 that, despite me thinking I'd done everything I could to ensure the arrangements I had were valid, it appeared that things might be about to get rocky. I'd been a 'victim' of the whole IR35 fiasco in 2000ish where my accountant messed things up and cost me a lot of money and I didn't want something similar happening again. Typical!

I've always maintained that if one pays for professional advice and follows it (which I did both in 2000 with my accountant and from 2005-2009 with my previous employer) then there should be some sort of comeback on those giving the advice - no? I mean, if I pay a plumber to put in a bath for me and the next day it bursts and floods the house, then I can get my money back/sue/etc. You pay an accountant to make sure you're paying the right amount of tax but, they don't then guess what, it's you in the dock! If I knew how the tax system worked, I wouldn't be paying someone else to do it for me!

Anyway, rant over. Thanks again for replying. I value your opinion highly but, I also know that nothing is certain with HMRC. Ta.