Just received a call to arrange visit! Anyone had one of these??
It might only relate to those people who are registered under HMRC rather than a
professional body.
I'm actually quite pleased to be educated (as this was the tone of the conversation - more helping than penalising) and am not duly worried.....but is this a bad thing....should I be????
No replies.....I can aonly assume that I am REALLY unlucky!!
Anyway, perhaps I will have more luck with the following. I attach below the items that they want to see during their visit. What do you think the fourth one relates to??? Banking and settlements. Do you think this is relating to invoices from me to clients and payments from them? Do you think this means they want to check MY bank account?????
·documents to confirm your identity
·details of clients for whom you carry out relevant activities
·evidence of customer identity and other due diligence and monitoring carried out;
·banking and settlement records;
·staff training records and procedure documents where appropriate; and
There have been a couple of people on the site recently who have been contacted about their MLR procedures but to my knowledge yours is the first visit that we've had reported.
I think what they will be really interested in is the procedures that you have in place as well as evidence that those procedures are being complied with in practice.
Do your staff know how to report suspicious behaviour.
How are reports filed.
What evidence is actually being recorded compared to what you say that you are recording.
I'm sure that you'll be fine. Just act with confidence and knowledge in order to reassure them that you pay more than just lip service to the regulations and everything will be ok.
Good luck and kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I had a letter asking some questions and from those they were going to decide whether a visit was appropriate. I've not heard anything so think I may have escaped the torture.
I think it would be really interesting - for most people who use this site - to see what happens in one of these visits, so please let us know how you get on.
I will let you know how it goes. The guy on the phone did seem to be relaxed (almost apologetic) saying that it was partly a check and partly educational.....i.e., no penalties for non-compliance.
I am still anxious about the heading mentioned earlier....'banking and settlement records???
Newly arrived and first post. I've been reading threads about MLR as I never knew it existed and it caused some panic. However, I don't think I need to register as I am based in Ireland. HMRC states that premises outside of the UK do not need to register. And I have only visited the UK once so far. Although, I think I will need to attend for meetings in the near future.
Due you think it would be necessary for me to register the premises in the UK as my client under MLR despite the fact that this upcoming visit will only be my second. While there, I will attend the accountants office with my clients for the usual 'what can we do with this horrible tax' discussion. Your advice and opinions most welcome.
And the very best of luck with your MLR visit. Even when you know you have ticked all the boxes, it can still be nerve-racking to have someone 'check out' your work. Every time I have a Revenue audit I get terribly anxious!!
Hi Rachael, yes, it will be interesting how this visit goes. I imagine SOCA may some role in the selection process. You could always ask them as 'settlements' can have more than one meaning.
Don't know if you've had a look at HMRC re. visits :-
Newly arrived and first post. I've been reading threads about MLR as I never knew it existed and it caused some panic. However, I don't think I need to register as I am based in Ireland. HMRC states that premises outside of the UK do not need to register. And I have only visited the UK once so far. Although, I think I will need to attend for meetings in the near future.
Due you think it would be necessary for me to register the premises in the UK as my client under MLR despite the fact that this upcoming visit will only be my second. While there, I will attend the accountants office with my clients for the usual 'what can we do with this horrible tax' discussion. Your advice and opinions most welcome.
And the very best of luck with your MLR visit. Even when you know you have ticked all the boxes, it can still be nerve-racking to have someone 'check out' your work. Every time I have a Revenue audit I get terribly anxious!!
Welcome to the forum Carol - does Ireland not have its own MLR you might need to comply with? Probably not as strict as the UK though. I believe the UK has gone further than any other country in what was originally brought in to deal with terrorists moving money about, the UK extended so that accountancy service providers became unpaid employees of HMRC.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
Welcome to the forum Carol - does Ireland not have its own MLR you might need to comply with? Probably not as strict as the UK though. I believe the UK has gone further than any other country in what was originally brought in to deal with terrorists moving money about, the UK extended so that accountancy service providers became unpaid employees of HMRC.
Not only that Peasie but we have to pay them for the privelege!!
Good luck with the visit Rachael.... I would ask them what they mean by banking and settlements...they are fond of ambiguous language.
There is no legal requirement for book-keepers to register for anything in Ireland. MLR apply to accountants but not the humble book-keeper. In this country, the correct term is 'only a book-keeper' if you don't hold a qualificiation. You may if you wish register for a TAIN (Tax Advisor ID) with Revenue. This just means that they will give you details over the phone if you ring about a clients taxes. Although, they seldom actually ask who you are anyway. I just ring up and give the tax number and they will tell me everything without asking am I the client or the agent. We taught the French the term Laissez-faire!
I'm not sure if HMRC know that I exist for this UK firm. I originally set up the business and registered it for IT, VAT, etc. But it is my name and originally my phone number registered for the online services. This caused HMRC some problems though as they cannot make international calls and couldn't contact me when they needed to!
I might just mention it to our UK accountant. I prefer to dot the 'i's.
Great forum btw, we really need one of these in Ireland.
Well....the visit came and went. I had organised a space at one of my clients (that offers function room hire amongst other things) and set out three chairs......the letter stated 'myself and my colleague.......(blank)' so I thought the colleague was still to be confirmed.
Anyway, just one inspector arrived and it was explained that because there are only half a dozen such inspectors dotted around the UK, it would prove inefficient to arrange a second inspector in such cases.
As for the visit, I had put together a front page listing my clients (around a dozen and mostly Ltd Co.'s), some passport copies (not all), some bank statements showing payment of my attached invoice (not all) and little else. I had also listed a few checkpoints on the front page.
It quickly became apparent that he was not going to delve to closely into my records and was just wanting to make sure that I understood my responsibilities. He was actually a little apologetic.....he must get some grief!.......and realised that businesses like mine are a world away from high value cash businesses like scrap metal businesses. I expect to receive a follow up email and he has offered to send slides (no webinar yet!) of a recent HMRC MLR workshop. He also said I should register with SOCA.
So, as long as you are aware of the checks and your responsibilites and show an understanding, then everything should be fine. It was mostly an informal chat and the words he used a lot were 'common sense'. So the message is to use your common sense, but if you do see suspicious activity (and hopefully this should be obvious if it ever appears!), then you should report it.
I think at the end of the day, a new client form would be a good idea to draw up. Sight of passport/utility bill (as long as the passport number/address is recorded there is no need for photocopy) should be detailed on this form. You should probably add a section listing details such as co reg number/list of directors and also a summary of the business activities and the level of risk.
Glad it went ok, Count. Slightly tongue in cheek comment but with the two above experiences, praps we should all consider registering with HMRC instead. Thanks for posting, Rachel and glad it went ok. Tim
Thank you for sharing your experiences with everyone - I found it most helpful.
Just one point, I had a look on the SOCA website but couldn't see anywhere to register, could you maybe let me know how to go about doing this? I have to say it's a great website for a bit of background reading.
I have had a phone call from HMRC just wanting to make sure I'm aware of my responsibilities. I really don't like these sort of phonecalls. I always panic unnecessarily and almost always end up making a fool of myself somewhere along the lines. They have asked that I ring them back when is convenient for me though which is nice of them!
Thanks for posting that Count, seems like you had everything in place well done.
Kirsty I wouldn't worry too much, Count's experience seems fine, just have the paperwork in order. I think they are more using this as a trial for the next few months.
