HMRC suspended BRCs in February this year (introduced for the first time in 2011) mainly after criticism from accountants about differences in opinion over record keeping.
Eight months later, BRCs are to be relaunched, and the HMRC claim these are improved and more focussed than before.
Targeting
The HMRC claim better targeting, with letters being sent to the types of businesses thought to be more likely to have record keeping problems, for example, those with a high incidence of cash sales.
Communications
The HMRC letters will precede a phone call directly to the business (rather than via their accountants) which would form the taxman’s first assessment, from which he will decide whether a BRC would be appropriate.
Your Accountant
The best course of action is to contact your accountants upon receipt of the first HMRC advisory letter, or earlier should you have any concerns or queries.