How HMRC gets information from overseas tax authorities

Q: How might it play out in an enquiry?

Illustration only. Ana, a UK resident consultant, is under enquiry. Her UK statements show regular transfers in from an account in another country. HMRC asks for the overseas statements and she replies that the account is closed and she cannot get them. The officer is satisfied domestic avenues are exhausted and asks the Competent Authority to make a request under the double taxation agreement for the account's balances and transactions. Ana may not be told the request has been made. Within about 90 days the other authority sends the statements, or explains when it will. The officer puts the figures to Ana and can discuss them, but may not hand her copies of the bank's records. Had Ana asked the overseas bank herself and explained the transfers early, the enquiry would probably have moved faster. Where overseas income has not been declared, the Worldwide Disclosure Facility is the usual route to correct it before HMRC's request bears fruit.

When HMRC needs information about a particular person or company that is held abroad, an HMRC Competent Authority can ask the other country’s tax authority for it under a double taxation agreement, a tax information exchange agreement or the OECD and Council of Europe Multilateral Convention. This exchange on request is separate from the automatic flow of bank data: it is targeted, the information must be foreseeably relevant to a tax liability, and HMRC is generally expected to try UK routes first.

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What is exchange of information on request?

HMRC’s International Exchange of Information Manual at IEIM102100 calls it the baseline of exchange: the Competent Authority of one tax authority contacts the Competent Authority of another to ask for information about a customer or group of customers. Every exchange instrument allows it. The OECD minimum standard expects the other authority to supply the information from its own records or, if necessary, obtain it using powers equivalent to Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008.

It sits alongside two other types of exchange:

Automatic exchange (IEIM102300): jurisdictions agree to swap large volumes of data on a subject, such as financial accounts, property or employment income. The Common Reporting Standard is the best known example.
Spontaneous exchange (IEIM102200): an officer in one authority spots something relevant to another and passes it on through their Competent Authority.

Exchange on request is the tool HMRC reaches for when automatic data is missing, incomplete or raises questions that need documents.

What legal basis does HMRC need?

IEIM200010 explains that customer information is confidential and can only be disclosed under a specific legal provision, referring to section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. International agreements brought into UK law by regulations provide that gateway. The main types are:

Double taxation agreements, given effect for exchange purposes under section 173 of the Finance Act 2006. IEIM210100 says the taxes covered depend on the “Taxes Covered” article, the exchange of information article and any protocol.
Tax information exchange agreements, used where a full treaty is not appropriate, for example because one jurisdiction has no taxes on income (IEIM210200).
The OECD and Council of Europe Multilateral Convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax, with more than 140 participating jurisdictions. It covers exchange on request, spontaneous and automatic exchange, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous examinations and help collecting debts, although parties can enter reservations (IEIM210300).

Exchanges must go through Competent Authorities. IEIM101400 says the UK Competent Authority is the HMRC Commissioners, who delegate the role to trained officers, and that disclosure to another tax authority by an officer who is not a Competent Authority is unlawful.

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What can HMRC ask for?

IEIM112000 gives common examples: foreign pay and tax details, residence status, property owned or used, income and expenses, bank account balances and transactions, directors and shareholders, contracts, business records and financial statements, tax rulings, emails and other communications, and legal and beneficial ownership. The exchange can also be a call or a meeting between case teams. Four rules limit a request:

Foreseeable relevance. IEIM101300 says the standard is interpreted broadly. It does not need to be certain that tax is due, only that the information is capable of affecting a liability. Older treaties use the word “necessary”, which the OECD commentary treats as meaning the same.
No fishing expeditions. IEIM101350 contrasts a speculative request for all properties owned by one country’s residents, which fails, with a request for the investors in a company linked to an identified avoidance scheme, which succeeds.
Reciprocity. IEIM101500 says HMRC cannot ask another authority to obtain information HMRC could not obtain itself in an equivalent UK case, so a request should not extend to material protected by legal professional privilege in the UK.
Periods covered. IEIM200400 says information can only be sought for periods the agreement covers, and as a general rule HMRC does not seek information more than five years old unless it still affects more recent periods.

When does HMRC make a request?

IEIM111010 says a request can be made at any stage of an enquiry if there is a gateway, the information is foreseeably relevant and the request meets reciprocity. IEIM111030 adds that it can be made at the risk assessment stage, during an enquiry or, in certain cases, after a closure notice.

The officer must normally exhaust domestic avenues first. IEIM112300 says that means contacting the customer and using information powers until satisfied the information cannot be obtained in the UK. If a UK company could get the information from an overseas group company, HMRC expects to use a Schedule 36 information notice before going abroad. There is an exception where approaching UK sources would seriously prejudice the enquiry.

Will you be told that HMRC has asked?

Not necessarily. IEIM112200 says HMRC does not need to tell the customer, though it may if the caseworker thinks it would help, for example because the customer then knows the information will be obtained anyway. Officers are told not to commit to notifying the customer of each exchange or to discuss the detail.

When the reply arrives, it can be shown to and discussed with the customer, but HMRC cannot always provide copies. Copies are normally limited to items that belong to the customer anyway, such as invoices they issued or contracts they signed. IEIM101800 says most agreements allow the information to be used in public court proceedings.

How long does a reply take and how can HMRC use it?

IEIM112400 says the time varies with the volume and complexity of the request. The OECD Global Forum standard is that the other jurisdiction should provide the information, or explain when it will, within 90 days, and jurisdictions are peer reviewed against that standard.

Use is restricted. IEIM200200 says information can only be used for the purposes in the specific agreement, and some agreements limit it to the taxes they cover, so information obtained for an income tax enquiry may not automatically be usable for VAT. IEIM101600 says information received from one jurisdiction cannot be passed to another without permission, and onward disclosure to a non tax agency needs the sending authority’s consent.

Can a foreign tax authority use HMRC to get information about you?

Yes. The process works in reverse. IEIM120100 says a UK Competent Authority reviews each inward request and may ask the officer responsible, or act itself, to obtain information from the UK person, using information powers if needed, even though HMRC does not need the information for its own purposes. IEIM120150 explains that a third party notice under paragraph 2 of Schedule 36 can be used, because paragraph 63 defines tax to include relevant foreign tax.

The person approached will not see the overseas letter. IEIM120120 says HMRC discloses the minimum needed, will not normally say which jurisdiction asked, and must never reveal details of the overseas enquiry. See also HMRC third party information notices.

How might it play out in an enquiry?

Illustration only. Ana, a UK resident consultant, is under enquiry. Her UK statements show regular transfers in from an account in another country. HMRC asks for the overseas statements and she replies that the account is closed and she cannot get them.

The officer is satisfied domestic avenues are exhausted and asks the Competent Authority to make a request under the double taxation agreement for the account’s balances and transactions.
Ana may not be told the request has been made.
Within about 90 days the other authority sends the statements, or explains when it will.
The officer puts the figures to Ana and can discuss them, but may not hand her copies of the bank’s records.

Had Ana asked the overseas bank herself and explained the transfers early, the enquiry would probably have moved faster. Where overseas income has not been declared, the Worldwide Disclosure Facility is the usual route to correct it before HMRC’s request bears fruit.

What mistakes do people make?

Assuming that if an overseas account is outside automatic reporting, HMRC cannot find out about it.
Saying overseas records are unobtainable when they are within the person’s control. HMRC can still use domestic powers and then ask abroad.
Expecting to be notified before HMRC contacts a foreign authority.
Treating HMRC’s five year rule of thumb as a legal limit. It is guidance about what is practical to request, not a restriction on how far back HMRC can go.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.