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This factsheet tells you about your rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This was incorporated into British law through the Human Rights Act 1998. It gives you certain rights when we’re considering whether to charge certain types of penalties.

We’ll ask you to read this factsheet if we’re considering charging you a penalty for failing to comply with your obligations under the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS). For more information about DOTAS penalties, go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘disclosure of tax avoidance schemes: guidance’.

This factsheet is one of a series. For the full list, go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘HMRC compliance checks factsheets’.

What your rights under Article 6 mean for you when we’re considering penalties

We always welcome your co-operation when deciding whether to charge you a penalty and when working out how much that penalty should be. The amount of help and information you give us is entirely your choice.

When we’re considering penalties, you have the right under Article 6 not to answer our questions. This is sometimes called the right to not self-incriminate, or the right to silence. This right does not cover information or documents that already exist. This means you must give us information or documents that already exist, if we have a legal right to ask for them.

When deciding how much you’re going to co-operate with us, you have the right to get help from a professional adviser. If you don’t already have an adviser, you may want to consider consulting one.

You have the right to have the matter of penalties dealt with without unreasonable delay. If we charge you a penalty, you have the right to ask for a review or to appeal.

For more information about your appeal and review rights, go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘HMRC1’ or ‘disagree with a tax decision’. You can also call us on 0300 200 3610. You can also find more information about tribunals online. Go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’.

You have the right to apply for publicly funded legal assistance or legal aid. In some circumstances, funding may be available to help you bring certain penalty proceedings before the Tribunal. If you’ve received a notice of penalty action or you’re going to appeal against a penalty determination, you may want to check whether your case qualifies for help and the type of help that may be available. We have no involvement in decisions about if your case will qualify.

If there’s anything you don’t understand about these rights or what they mean for you, tell the HMRC officer who contacted you about the penalties straightaway.

Funded legal assistance

You can find out more about funded legal assistance or legal aid in:

• England and Wales by going to the Civil Legal Advice website at www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice or by calling 0345 345 4345
• Scotland by going to the Scottish Legal Aid Board website at www.slab.org.uk or by calling 0131 226 7061
• Northern Ireland by contacting a solicitor who’s a member of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, go to www.lawsoc-ni.org

You can also get more details from Citizens Advice, or you can apply for funded legal assistance or legal aid through a solicitor anywhere in the UK.

More information

If you need extra support

If you have any health or personal circumstances that may make it difficult for you to deal with us, please tell the officer that has contacted you. They’ll help you in whatever way they can. For more information, go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘get help from HMRC if you need extra support’.

You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf. For example, a professional adviser, friend or relative. However, we may still need to talk or write to you directly about some things. If we need to write to you, we’ll send a copy to the person you’ve asked us to deal with. If we need to talk to you, they can be with you when we do, if you prefer.

If you’re not happy with our service

Please tell the person or office you’ve been dealing with. They’ll try to put things right. If you still aren’t happy, they’ll tell you how to make a formal complaint.

Our privacy notice

Our privacy notice sets out the standards that you can expect from us when we ask for information or hold information about you. To read this, go to °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï and search ‘HMRC Privacy Notice’.