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Corporation tax return - Letter of Engagement

This is only a specimen letter and an individual letter will be tailored to meet particular circumstances

Note – this letter may not up to date for legal and professional requirements and may need to be revised to cover specific situations

 

Company’ means company,association or club

Introduction

It is both a requirement of the law relating to the provision of services and also good professional practice to set out clearly in writing the terms and conditions upon which we provide you with professional services.

This letter of engagement complies with this requirement. We would request that you carefully read through this letter to ensure there is no misunderstanding between us. If you agree to the terms and conditions set out, then please sign and return the spare copy to us. If there is any point upon which you require clarification, then please contact us. If, within four weeks, we have not heard from you or received back the signed copy, we will assume that you are in agreement with the contents of this letter. In signing this letter you acknowledge that you are signing on behalf of the company.

This engagement letter is governed by and construed in accordance with English Law. The Courts of England will have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim,dispute or difference concerning this engagement letter and any matter arising from it. Each party irrevocably waives any right it may have to object to any action being brought in those courts, to claim that the action has been brought in an inappropriate forum , or to claim that those courts do not have jurisdiction.

Except as may be otherwise provided by law , any liability to any third party arising under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties ) Act 1999 is hereby excluded.

Services to be provided by us.

Part 1- We agree to :-

deal with all taxation matters of a routine nature arising in connection with the company’s tax affairs arising out of the Self Assessment procedures and to comply with the filing requirements under the Self Assessment regulations. This is subject to your having supplied us with all information relevant to the partnership at least one month before the due date for filing any return or paying any tax, and supplying us with a signed return , after we have prepared the necessary figures, at least one week before the due date for filing the return.

In this letter, the use of the word ‘you’ refers only to the company, and not to the individual directors or committee members. Any services to be provided to the individual directors will be the subject of a separate letter of engagement.

NOTE – if you are using a fixed fee service the above paragraph is amended to include the particular services offered by the basic service or premium service as appropriate

It should be noted that we can only negotiate with the Inland Revenue on the basis of information supplied by yourself, or third parties acting on your authority.

This service excludes any investigation into your affairs by the Inland Revenue, H M Customs and Excise or the NIC authorities, and also excludes enquiries , ( except enquiries of a minor or routine nature) raised upon your return under the formal enquiry provisions which would be the subject of a separate letter of engagement.

In particular, this service includes :-

(i) preparing and submitting ,subject to your agreement, the Self Assessment Income Tax Return, on the basis of information provided to us by yourself.

(ii) We will, without reference to yourself, acting as your agents deal with all correspondence, assessments, payment demands, including lodging, where necessary appeals and claims, and applications for postponement of payment. (This clause will be excluded under the basic service)

(iii) Where it is necessary in connection with your returns to prepare accounts or statements of income and expenditure in respect of trading or property letting we will obtain your approval and submit these to the Inspector of Taxes with your annual return, but we would reserve the right to charge an additional fee for preparing any such accounts.

Part 2 - For your part ,you agree :-

(1) To comply with any conditions set out in Part 1

(2)To supply us with all information in relation to your affairs that we may reasonably require, or that is relevant to your affairs, promptly and in good order.

(3) That notwithstanding our obligation under this letter of engagement to prepare Tax Returns, Accounts, etc, you ( and you alone) are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of your accounting records or other records and that all liabilities, howsoever arising, as a result of errors, inaccuracies, omissions, commissions or a lack of clarity in your records, insofar as they attach to us, are excluded, unless it can be proved that we had specific written notice of the inaccuracy or incompleteness of your records.

(4) To follow our advice in relation to the nature of your bookkeeping, accountancy and other records.

(5) To fully comply with the Self Assessment Regulations in all matters including, in particular, the requirement to retain all your records for a period of (usually) six years after the end of the tax year involved. More precise details of the requirements are available upon request.

(6) That nothing in this letter makes us directly or indirectly responsible for the payment of any taxes. You agree that you remain fully responsible for the payment of all taxes relating to your affairs. You also agree that no payment should be made to the Inland Revenue in respect of Income Tax or NIC, without first having received written advice from ourselves that the sums demanded are correct. You also agree that any tax demands should be forwarded to us as soon as possible for checking, in order to minimise the risk of either interest or penalties.

(7) That you will supply us immediately upon receipt by you with copies of any documents or notices served upon you by the Inland Revenue

Part 3 - Non Compliance

(1) If at any time you have not fully complied with our advice in relation to your accounting records or

(2) You have not supplied us with the necessary information to deal with your affairs within any statutory time limits (and the time limits set out in this letter of engagement shall be of the essence for the purposes of complying with statutory time limits) or

(3) You have in any other way by omission or commission made it impracticable for us to comply with our obligations under this letter of engagement, then, provided that your standing order payments are not in arrears, or that any other amounts due to us have been paid in full, we agree to do whatever we can to assist in rectifying the situation, but subject to our reserving the right to make a specific charge on a basis to be agreed before any additional work is undertaken.

(4) We must emphasise the severity of the current rules with regard to interest and penalties that can be applied by the Inland Revenue , both in relation to late payment of tax and late submission of returns. The deadlines set out by law are critical - not even one days grace is allowed. Penalties and interest can also arise where you have supplied us with incomplete or inaccurate information upon which we have relied in making estimates of your liabilities in order to agree payments on account with the Inland Revenue.

Part 4

Other work
Any work of whatsoever description not included in this letter of engagement shall be the subject of a separate agreement ,and this letter shall be taken to be a full and inclusive statement of the matters referred to.

We will be pleased at any time to advise you on any business or taxation matters which you care to refer to us.

Part 5 - Personnel

Taxation work will normally be undertaken by myself.

Part 6- Fees

Our fees are payable by you immediately upon an account being rendered, which will be immediately after completion and approval by you of the tax return, immediately prior to its submission to the Inland Revenue. We have agreed that the fees payable under this agreement shall be ( see fees under basic, and premium services) .

The following applies only to the basic service

The fee under the basic service is based on your providing us with the necessary information prior to three months before the filing date in each year, so that the Inland Revenue can carry out the actual assessing procedures. If the information comes into our hands after that date, we may miss the deadline .

Part 7 - Retention and destruction of books and papers
If you cease to be a client and if we still hold any books and papers that are your property, then at the expiry of six years from your ceasing to be a client, we will write to your last known address inviting you to collect such books and records. If such books and records are not collected we will, under the terms of this letter of engagement, be at liberty to destroy any such books and papers upon the seventh anniversary of your ceasing to be a client.

If at any time while you remain a client , we still hold any books and papers that are your property where the last entry therein was made no later than six years earlier, then we will write to your last known address inviting you to collect such books and records. If such books and records are not collected we will, under the terms of this letter of engagement, be at liberty to destroy any such books and papers upon the seventh anniversary of the last entry therein.

All files and records which are the property of ourselves will be retained in accordance with our formal file destruction policy which is available for inspection upon request

We apologise for the length and complexity of this letter ,but there is little point in skimping an a letter which we hope will be the foundations upon which a long and mutually rewarding business relationship will be built

Yours sincerely

FIRM NAME

NAME

 

                      Peter Brown & Co is a trading name of Undershot Ltd, registered in England , no 4114468. Director :-  P.Brown FCCA, FCIE,DchA,BSc.The registered office is Acomb Grange, Grange Lane, York, YO23 3QZ.

 

                                    Last modified 07/02/09