Originally posted by BrilloPad
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My understanding of the general position, as you are likely to be aware, is that an APN is issued for payment of tax avoided under the schemes and must be paid until a tribunal / court decides whether the scheme was lawful or not.
I assume from your response that whoever set up your scheme did not include 'insurance' to settle part or all of any claims brought by nor will they be writing on your behalf to 'appeal' (or more correctly make representations) against the APNs issued? I have seen a number of schemes where the scheme provider did offer these actions as part of their service.
My take, in accordance with the latest developments, is that APN's are enforceable even if you are able to prove financial hardship as a result of having to make payment. Although there is no statutory requirement for HMRC to accept representations relating to hardship, the line appears to be that they will take them into account.
My experience is that HMRC will not accept an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) where you are trying to pay back less than the full amount relating to an APN. An IVA (or informal time to pay arrangement) will need to be for payment of the entire amount, and to be backed up by your ability to make payments from your available resources, i.e. by way of an income contribution, remortgaging your home, releasing pension funds, etc.
The APN (along with the vast majority of your unsecured liabilties) will be written off if you go bankrupt. If your employment prospects are not damaged by bankruptcy, you do not have any assets that require protecting, your disposable income is less than then £20 per month, you can live with the bankruptcy restrictions imposed usually for a minimum of 12 months, amongst other things, then bankruptcy could be a great way to draw line under your troubles and move forward without the APN liability hanging over your head for an unknown period. See the goverment's recently revised guide to bankruptcy here.
Everyone's circumstances are different so I would advise that you have a thorough review of your particular situation with an expert before deciding upon which action to take.
Thanks for your pointer towards your other thread. I have replied there on my understanding of the current law regarding pensions being payable into the bankruptcy estate, which although positive, is unfortunately still pending appeal.
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