Taxes Management Act 1970 section 105

Admissibility of evidence not affected by offer of settlement, etc.

Section 105 establishes that statements or documents provided by a person during a tax investigation remain admissible as evidence in legal proceedings, even if the person was encouraged to cooperate by being told about the possibility of a settlement or penalty reduction.

• Statements and documents produced by or on behalf of a person cannot be ruled inadmissible simply because they were made after HMRC indicated it might accept a money settlement instead of pursuing criminal prosecution
• Evidence remains admissible even if the person was told that cooperating and volunteering information would be taken into account when determining any penalty
• This rule applies to criminal proceedings for tax fraud, proceedings to recover unpaid tax, and proceedings relating to penalties or appeals against penalty determinations
• The provision ensures that HMRC's standard practice of offering settlement opportunities does not undermine its ability to use the resulting evidence in court