Information notice · CC/FS2 · Schedule 36
HMRC information notice (Schedule 36)
For a formal notice from HMRC requiring information or documents, often during a compliance check. This page gives what HMRC's factsheet CC/FS2 and the law say, with each source and the date it was checked.
Last reviewed 8 October 2026 · How Tax Letters checks its facts
The short answer
- What this letter is
- This is a formal notice, not a request. HMRC's factsheet CC/FS2 says an information notice is a legal document that requires a person to provide information and produce documents to HMRC, to check their tax position or collect a tax debt. [1]
- What it can ask for
- CC/FS2 says HMRC can ask for any information or documents in an information notice if it believes they are relevant and that it is reasonable to ask for them. [1]
- Appeals
- Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 says notice of an appeal against an information notice must be given in writing, to the officer who gave the notice, before the end of 30 days beginning with the date the notice is given, and must state the grounds of appeal. [2]
- Your rights at a glance
Every fact on this page comes from a source listed at the foot of the page, with the date it was last checked. All sources and dates
The dates
This page starts no clock of its own. Every date here is the one printed on the notice.
Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 says notice of an appeal against an information notice must be given in writing, to the officer who gave the notice, before the end of 30 days beginning with the date the notice is given, and must state the grounds of appeal. [2]
If the notice says a tribunal approved it
Paragraph 29 of Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 gives a taxpayer the right to appeal against a taxpayer notice, and says that right does not apply if the tribunal approved the giving of the notice. [3]
What the notice can ask, and your rights
From HMRC's factsheet about information notices:
- CC/FS2 says the notice will tell you what information or documents HMRC needs, how and when to give them, what to do if you disagree, and whether the independent tribunal approved it.
- CC/FS2 says that if you disagree with an information notice, the notice will tell you what you can appeal against and how. You cannot appeal if it asks only for statutory records about the supply of goods or services or the importation of goods in the course of a business.
- CC/FS2 says that if you do not give HMRC everything the notice asks for by the deadline it gave, it may charge a £300 penalty, then daily penalties of up to £60 a day; a later penalty based on the tax HMRC believes is owed must be authorised by the independent tribunal.
- CC/FS2 says HMRC will not charge a penalty for not complying if you have a reasonable excuse, such as serious illness, the death of someone close to you, or losing the documents in a fire or flood; it will instead ask for them by an agreed date.
- CC/FS2 says that if you carelessly or deliberately give inaccurate information or produce a document containing an inaccuracy, HMRC may charge a penalty of up to £3,000 for each inaccuracy, and that if you later find something you gave contains an inaccuracy, you must tell HMRC straightaway.
- CC/FS2 says HMRC will not charge a penalty for an inaccuracy if you tell it about the inaccuracy at the time you give the information or produce the document.
The full factsheet: GOV.UK: Information notices [1]
If one of these is you
The notice says a tribunal approved it
CC/FS2 says you cannot appeal if the notice has been approved by the independent tribunal, because a judge has already decided that what HMRC asked for is appropriate. [1]
You cannot get some of what it asks for
CC/FS2 says an information notice cannot ask for documents you do not have and cannot get, documents created to prepare for a tax appeal, or privileged communications between lawyers and clients about legal advice, among other limits. [1]
You think it asks for something it should not
CC/FS2 says the rules on what HMRC cannot ask for can be complicated, and that if you think it has asked for something it should not have, you contact the officer who gave you the information notice. [1]
Your health or circumstances make this hard
GOV.UK's extra support guide says that if you have been contacted about a compliance check, you need to contact your compliance officer for support, and that their contact details are in the letter. [4]
Get help early
If you talk to an adviser, these questions keep the conversation on your letter:
- What is HMRC checking, and which years and taxes does it cover?
- Is everything the letter asks for relevant to the check?
- Is the date realistic, and how would more time be asked for?
- Who will speak to HMRC during the check?
GOV.UK has HMRC's guide to getting help and support during a compliance check, including extra support if you need it and how to let a tax agent or someone else deal with HMRC for you, and says you can also get help and support using HMRC's online tool. GOV.UK: HMRC compliance checks, help and support [5]
You can authorise a friend, relative or voluntary organisation to talk to HMRC for you and help you fill in forms. You can also authorise an agent, such as an accountant or tax adviser, to deal with HMRC for you. [6]
Need help with this?
Vision Consulting Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors, Tax Letters' founding partner, is regulated by ICAEW. Talk to them in confidence, with no obligation. [7] [8] [9]
Call 020 8554 2135How Vision handles HMRC compliance checks
You can also deal with HMRC directly, free, without any adviser. Free help: TaxAid, which says it helps “people who can’t afford to pay for help”, and Citizens Advice.
The two are connected. Tax Letters takes no referral fees.How Tax Letters is funded.
Keep a record
Keep this with the letter. A note of every request, date and reply helps later. Mark what happened:
Sources
Each source is linked, with the date Tax Letters last checked it.
- GOV.UK: Information notices, CC/FS2 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Finance Act 2008, Schedule 36, paragraph 32 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Finance Act 2008, Schedule 36, paragraph 29 (checked 8 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK: Get help from HMRC if you need extra support (checked 7 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK: HMRC compliance checks: help and support (checked 8 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK: Appoint someone to deal with HMRC on your behalf (checked 7 Oct 2026)
- Vision Consulting: Contact us (checked 7 Oct 2026)
- TaxAid: About us (checked 8 Oct 2026)
- Citizens Advice: About us (checked 7 Oct 2026)