Tax advisers must hold AML supervision before registering

Tax advisers applying for an HMRC agent services account must have approved anti-money laundering supervision in place before they applyGOV. Approved supervision means supervision either by HMRC or by one of the supervisory bodiesGOV, and an application made without an approval already in place will be rejectedGOV.

The acceptable evidence is wider than before. The business must provide evidence of its supervision, and the examples now include a digital copy of the supervision certificate, a renewal confirmation email or letter, proof of payment for supervision such as a receipt showing current supervision in place, and a screenshot showing the business listed on its supervisory body's public register.

The same page adds a pointer for identifying the people the conditions attach to. Some people working for the business must also meet the conditions as 'relevant individuals'; the page now cross-refers to the Mandatory Tax Adviser Registration manual (MTAR20400) for how to identify them, alongside its existing officer-count rules. Businesses with 5 officers or fewer treat all officers as relevant individuals; businesses with 6 or more first identify those making strategic or management decisions about the tax advice work, topping up to at least 5 where fewer meet the definition.

The remaining conditions are unchanged in substance. The business must not have relevant outstanding returns or unpaid tax outside a payment plan, be subject to an HMRC refusal-to-interact decision, an anti-avoidance sanction or a stop notice, hold relevant unspent fraud or tax convictions, be formally insolvent, or be suspended or banned from registering. Relevant individuals carry the same conditions except that they do not need to provide AML supervision evidence and must additionally not be disqualified from acting as a director in the UK or overseas.

Checks in most cases happen after the online application is submitted, with no separate evidence needed unless HMRC asks; overseas businesses and individuals must provide authenticated evidence, notarised and translated into English where needed, and overseas applicants use the existing registration route. Registration continues to run through the agent services account application, which asks for the name of the anti-money laundering supervisory body and proof of supervision alongside the firm's Government Gateway ID, Unique Taxpayer Reference and details of relevant people.

Legal basis: the page's own registration conditions, read with the Mandatory Tax Adviser Registration manual.