956Inspector’s right to make enquiries and amend assessments.

[FA88 s15; FA91 s50]

(1)(a) For the purpose of making an assessment on a chargeable person for a chargeable period or for the purpose of amending such an assessment, the inspector—

(i) may accept either in whole or in part any statement or other particular contained in a return delivered by the chargeable person for that chargeable period, and

(ii) may assess any amount of income, profits or gains or, as respects capital gains tax, chargeable gains, or allow any deduction, allowance or relief by reference to such statement or particular.

(b) The making of an assessment or the amendment of an assessment by reference to any statement or particular referred to in paragraph (a)(i) shall not preclude the inspector—

(i) from making such enquiries or taking such actions within his or her powers as he or she considers necessary to satisfy himself or herself as to the accuracy or otherwise of that statement or particular, and

(ii) subject to section 955(2), from amending or further amending an assessment in such manner as he or she considers appropriate.

(c) Any enquiries and actions referred to in paragraph (b) shall not be made in the case of any chargeable person for any chargeable period at any time after the expiry of the period of ^[1]>6 years^<[1][1]>4 years^<[1] commencing at the end of the chargeable period in which the chargeable person has delivered a return for the chargeable period unless at that time the inspector has reasonable grounds for believing that the return is insufficient due to its having been completed in a fraudulent or negligent manner.

(2)(a) A chargeable person who is aggrieved by any enquiry made or action taken by an inspector for a chargeable period, after the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (1)(c) in respect of that chargeable period, on the grounds that the chargeable person considers that the inspector is precluded from making that enquiry or taking that action by reason of subsection (1)(c) may, by notice in writing given to the inspector within 30 days of the inspector making that enquiry or taking that action, appeal to the Appeal Commissioners, and the Appeal Commissioners shall hear the appeal in all respects as if it were an appeal against an assessment.

(b) Any action required to be taken by the chargeable person and any further action proposed to be taken by the inspector pursuant to the inspector’s enquiry or action shall be suspended pending the determination of the appeal.

(c) Where on the hearing of the appeal the Appeal Commissioners—

(i) determine that the inspector was precluded from making the enquiry or taking the action by reason of subsection (1)(c), the chargeable person shall not be required to take any action pursuant to the inspector’s enquiry or action and the inspector shall be prohibited from pursuing his enquiry or action, or

(ii) decide that the inspector was not so precluded, it shall be lawful for the inspector to continue with his or her enquiry or action.