In recent years, HMRC raids have been more cost effective in terms of recovering revenue. A greater use of asset recovery legislation and greater levels of cooperation between agencies has meant that a raid on commercial or domestic premises can open up a number of avenues for different investigators.

The premises named in a search warrant may not be the main target. A raid on particular premises may have been organised because executing a warrant might be the only practical way in which evidence of wrongdoing by others can be gathered. Consequently, businesses should take sensible precautions and have measures in place to deal effectively with an HMRC intervention, whether or not they are concerned about their own commercial activity.

Professional officers will not object when properly challenged by a business trying to protect its legal rights and legitimate commercial interests. Unprofessional officers will think twice about taking advantage when challenged by a properly prepared protocol. Businesses across the UK need to have support of a committed and experienced legal team, as well as a strategy in place for what to do if they are targeted.

HMRC can raid either a home or business of someone they suspect may be committing tax offences. The raids are usually early in the morning and different branch offices of the same company may be targeted at the same time to avoid any 'tip-offs' between locations.

A detailed knowledge of the law is not required to protect your company but a basic protocol should be put in place. It is prudent to nominate one employee (plus a backup in case they are absent) who will take charge of proceedings should a raid occur. All employees who are likely to be first contact for HMRC Officers should be fully briefed with a plan of action.

From here on in, the nominated employee will be referred to as Supervisor. The Supervisor should be fully trained on the protocol and take charge and other employees should be aware who the Supervisor is so that person can be alerted immediately in the event of a visit from HMRC.

Keep calm and follow the protocol in the guide below. Do not become aggressive or obstructive. Officers do not have to wait for your solicitor to arrive before they begin their search but they should be prepared to wait a reasonable time, not least because proceeding in spite of a request for legal assistance on-site can produce evidential difficulties later in the case. The officers will usually agree to speak with your solicitor by telephone before commencing the search.

We always ask to speak to the officer in charge of the search by telephone at the earliest opportunity so that we can ask questions about the obtaining and execution of the warrant. A telephone conversation can sometimes be sufficient if the search is very specific and limited to particular evidential requirements. However, officers will normally seek a warrant permitting a wider search because they often run into unforeseen issues and they will want a power to deal with the unexpected.

Should the officers not agree to wait for your solicitor to arrive before beginning their search, an employee should 'shadow' each officer as they make their way around the office. Records should be kept of all documents examined, copied or removed. Employees should make reasonable requests to copy all documents that are removed to ensure as little disruption as possible to the business in the period following the raid.

Making sure employees are aware of their role and rights during a raid is imperative so as not to give HMRC officers free run around the premises. In fact, many officers encourage cooperation and 'shadowing' because they can find it difficult to deal with subsequent accusations that officers have somehow attempted to covertly remove evidence they were not entitled to seize. This can seriously undermine their case and an officer's credibility.

Officers cannot interview or interrogate employees whilst they make their way around the office. However, they may ask practical questions (e.g. the whereabouts of documents, hardware or passwords for computers etc.) Such information should be provided wherever possible, as obstructing an officer in the course of executing a warrant can be a criminal offence. The separate offence of 'prejudicing an investigation' under The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is broadly defined and staff need to know that the consequences of committing the offence can be serious.

Officers are permitted to use reasonable force to enter and search locked rooms and safes etc. and will do so if a key or other requested assistance is not provided. Personal searches of employees by officers may be permitted, but must be completed by an officer of the same gender and searches must be in pursuance of the terms of the warrant. Arrests can be made where (i) they have reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of an arrestable offence and (ii) a suspect can be properly identified. In other words, a search warrant is not a licence to empty the premises and remove belongings that have nothing to do with the enquiry.

Subject to the terms of the warrant, paper documents and data can be seized. This will often cause major problems for any business in the period following the raid, so management should ensure that all data is backed up on a regular basis and officers should not object to reasonable requests that documents are copied before originals are removed. Producing your own electronic data back-up during the course of the search itself will not normally be possible because it might disturb the evidential integrity of the data. However, officers will normally be accompanied by a computer forensic technician to deal with the copying of data in a manner which maintains evidential integrity. This is especially the case in large enquiries or where IT is critical to the running of the business.

Businesses should not hesitate in making officers aware of how important certain IT might be to the commercial operation. If an HMRC technician is not present, it may be possible to have a specialist called to the site to perform a forensic backup or 'image' data on behalf of the company. Our team includes suitably qualified and experienced computer forensic experts, specialising in 'disaster recovery' for small and large networks across a range of platforms.

Sometimes, hardware has to be taken; however, when the computers are eventually returned, you will want them to be same ones that were removed in the first place. Employees should have access to a camera, or be instructed to use their mobile phone camera, to take pictures of the serial numbers of any hardware removed from the premises. Ideally, a business should keep an inventory, including hardware serial numbers, and this should be kept off-site (along with data backups). This may be a requirement in the relevant insurance policy.

Officers may request that employees sign for documents or hardware seized. The receipts should be checked properly and the description of the item should be well-defined before a signature is provided. For example, 'bag of papers' is not sufficient, especially if HMRC officers need to remove a large number of bags in a complex enquiry.

Documents protected by Legal Professional Privilege (LPP) are not within the scope of the warrant. Legal professional privilege entitles a client to refuse to disclose some of their confidential communications to another party (e.g. HMRC, the court). LPP exists because the client must be sure that what he tells his lawyer in confidence will not be revealed without his consent or by order of the court. A diligent officer should recognise when a document might be protected by LPP but if agreement cannot be reached, the documents should be placed in sealed envelopes until the issue is resolved. Sometimes, LPP documents do not come to light until officers consider the evidence in more detail after it has been removed from the premises. In the event, they are obliged to follow a particular protocol and specific legal advice is recommended so that rights can be protected.

Whether a document is protected by LPP is not always obvious and legal advice is recommended. However, employees should have an idea of what may be protected so they can flag this up and delay/prevent the officer scrutinising the document(s). Briefly, LPP exists in two situations:

1. Legal advice privilege (evidence of communications between lawyer and client)
2. Litigation privilege (communications between lawyer and client created for the dominant purpose of obtaining legal advice or preparing for imminent legal proceedings)

If you suspect a document falls into this bracket refer it to the supervisor. If there is a disagreement, the document should be placed in a sealed envelope until the solicitor arrives.

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The nominated supervising employee should be informed and should arrange for the following:

• Note the time the officers arrive at the premises
• Check the ID of all the officers in attendance
• Ask that the officers remain in the reception area while legal representation arrives. If possible, ask that they wait somewhere out of sight of customers/clients
• Check the search warrant they present and take a copy. This should include scope of the search (including the premises' address), the names or number of officers permitted to be present, the time period for which the search is permitted and any property they are authorised to seize
• Before the officers leave, take their contact details so that they can be contacted later regarding the investigation and the seized goods

The supervisor should allocate a 'shadow' for each officer as they proceed to search the premises (if they refuse to wait for your solicitor). Make sure they record what is copied, removed etc. and make copies of anything the officer plans to remove.

Officers cannot interview or interrogate employees, so refer any questions beyond those relating to practical arrangements (e.g. keys, passwords to enable access) to the supervisor. Remember, wilfully obstructing an officer is a criminal offence.

Take photographs of the serial numbers of any hardware that is removed (on your mobile phone if you do not have access to a camera).

If you are asked to sign a receipt for the removal of items, check the description carefully. It should be clear and precise and explain exactly what is being removed. Get a copy of the each receipt for the records.

Remember, some documents are outside the scope of the warrant if they relate to communications between a legal professional and their client. If you suspect a document falls into this bracket, refer it to the supervisor. If there is a disagreement, the document should be placed in a sealed envelope until the solicitor arrives. If in doubt, refer the document to the supervisor.

Refer any press who appear either during or after the raid to the solicitor. JMW has a specialist in media handling who will deal with PR ramifications and damage control.

Note the time the officers leave the premises. When the search is over, nominate one person to collect and compile all the data collected by those 'shadowing' officers and hand this to the solicitor and/or management when they arrive.