HMRC reworks pre-April 2026 file-access rule and firm-first direction

HMRC has reworked its file-access-notice guidance on two points: what pre-1 April 2026 documents can be used for, and who the notice goes to when a firm and its employee advisers are both in the picture. The revised CH177020 page now states that a file access notice issued after 1 April 2026 can request documents that existed before 1 April 2026 in order to determine whether the test for sanctionable conduct is metGOV — giving as an example seeking records to confirm that a person is acting as a tax adviser for a taxpayer where that relationship began before 1 April 2026. The previous wording said the earlier documents could be requested but could not be used to determine the amount of penaltyGOV, while adding that they could indicate past patterns of behaviour, the extent of sanctionable conduct and a possible criminal investigation.

The companion old-documents page (CH177200) keeps the long-stop shield: a file access notice cannot require a document that originated before the back stop day — the first day of the 20-year period ending on the day the notice is given — where no part of it bears on tax periods ending on or after that dayLegislation. Its worked example takes a notice issued on 22 November 2026, making the back stop day 23 November 2006, and it carries the same revised formulation that pre-1 April 2026 documents can be requested to determine whether the sanctionable-conduct test is met, including confirming an adviser relationship that began before that dateGOV.

The second change is new guidance on direction. In cases involving tax adviser firms and employees who are themselves tax advisers, a file access notice will typically, in the first instance, be more appropriately directed to the firm rather than an individual employeeGOV. A Case A notice to the adviser can only require relevant documents — working papers and other documents used in assisting clients with tax affairs — in relation to clients identified in the notice and in respect of whom there are reasonable grounds to suspect sanctionable conductGOV.

The tribunal-approval position is restated across the reworked text: HMRC may obtain tribunal approval before issuing a notice in Case A and Case B situations; before seeking approval HMRC must tell the tax adviser and give a reasonable opportunity to make representations, with a summary of any representations going to the tribunal; the tribunal's decision to approve is final, so a pre-approved notice may not be appealed. Where HMRC issues a notice without tribunal approval, the adviser may appeal the notice or any requirement within it.

Legal basis: FA12/SCH38/PARA7 as amended (Case A/B power and tribunal approval), PARA8 (file access power subject to paragraph 7), PARA16 (old documents).