Terms of Engagement: Accountancy services for Property Capital Gains Tax. UK

Thank you for your instructions to provide you with Accountancy services in connection with your property related Capital Gains Tax calculation and return submission.

The domain and website PropertyCapitalGainsTax.UK is a trading name owned by 2E Accountants Ltd (company registration number 06768630).

“we” and “us” and “our” relate to this accountancy practice and “you” and “your” relate to you, the client.

1. Scope of Services

1.1. Our services will be provided by the employee/s of 2E Accountants and/or subcontractors based on the availability, the levels of skill and responsibility involved. Our usual services and timescales are listed in Annex 1.

1.2. Our work will be limited to the scope of services related to Property capital gains tax return required currently to be submitted within 60 days of the sale of a property. We will not be responsible for giving or obtaining any services or advice outside the scope of this service.

1.3. Where additional accountancy & tax services required in connection with a business, company or self-assessment, a separate engagement letter will be required with the firm 2E Accountants Ltd.

1.4. Registering as an agent with HMRC. We may register ourselves as an agent with HMRC during the course of our engagement. This is merely to be able to access your account information or provide information to HMRC. We do not act as an agent in the sense of making decisions on your behalf. Every dealing with HMRC is by yourselves and our handling of correspondences between HMRC and you will be based on your expressed or implied approval.

2. Reliance on advice

2.1. We will endeavour to record all advice on important matters in writing. Advice given orally is not intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. Therefore, if we provide oral advice (for example during the course of a meeting or a telephone conversation) and you wish to be able to rely on that advice, you must ask for the advice to be confirmed by us in writing.

2.2. This Agreement is intended by the parties as a final expression of their agreement and intended to be a complete and exclusive statement of the agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of the subject matter contained herein. There are no restrictions, promises, warranties or undertakings, other than those set forth or referred to herein. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings between the parties with respect to such subject matter.

3. Responsibilities

3.1. Our responsibilities are to:

a) observe the Laws of CIMA.

b) keep and maintain records of work completed and make them available to you upon request.

c) raise any issues or concerns that may be found during the term of the engagement.

d) return any information owned by you within 10 working days upon termination of the engagement and once payment for work carried out by the practice has been made.

3.2. Your responsibilities as the client are to:

a) provide the following proof of identity, current address and business details as required by anti-money laundering regulations.

1. A utility bill dated within the last three months

2. Passport or driving licence of all named directors/partners/ principles.

3. Certificate of Incorporation (if a Ltd company)

b) ensure that records of your property financials are correct and maintained to meet the requirements of regulatory authorities.

c) disclose all relevant information to enable us to complete the work within agreed timescales as set in Annex 1.

d) allow complete and unrestricted access to financial and other records held by yourselves or third parties.

4. Ethical conduct

4.1. All CIMA management accountants work within the framework of the CIMA Code of Ethics (www.cimaglobal.com). The code requires accountants to comply with the principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour.

4.2. As a CIMA regulated accountants we have a duty to observe the highest standards of conduct and integrity, and to uphold the good standing and reputation of the profession.

4.3. The duty of a professional accountant is not exclusively to satisfy the needs of an individual client or employer. In complying with the ethical requirements of the CIMA Code of Ethics the professional accountant is obliged to act primarily within the public interest.

5. Fees

5.1. Our fees are primarily based on a time, complexity and skill levels required to deliver a job. However, we may take factors other than our time into consideration in determining our fee, including the responsibility assumed, the novelty and difficulty of the technical, financial, accounting or taxation problems involved, unusual efficiency, the time pressure under which the work is performed, the benefit resulting to you, and any unforeseen circumstances arising in the course of the work involved.

5.2. The fee price on the website payable upon placing a website order is an estimate quote for the work of Capital Gains Tax calculation and return. (Currently starting at £400+vat = £480).

5.3. This fee quote is based on:

5.3.1. The assumption that the information you provide while placing the order is complete and accurate.

5.3.2. It is for one property with single ownership

5.4. Quotes/estimates are not binding. We would be pleased to quote a fee prior to engaging or commencing a service; and for existing clients, we can estimate from time to time, upon request from you, the total amount of fees for particular matters we may undertake on your behalf. Any fee quotes/estimates we provide are a guide to assist you in budgeting, but should not be seen as a definitive quotation unless this is specifically agreed in writing. Estimates are by their nature inexact, and cannot be binding on either of us.

5.5. Our fee is payable in advance unless credit terms i.e. credit limit in amounts and days are agreed. An invoice will be raised on an estimate/quote and an adjusting invoice or credit note if required will be raised after the completion or at a point we consider reasonable.

5.6. Payment of fees rendered by invoice is due within 7 days from the bill date. Where payment has not been received, we reserve the right to withhold services, documents and information, and have the right to cease to work on your account, and to terminate the engagement if payments are unduly delayed. A 3% late payment interest may be applied to any overdue accounts.

5.7. Any expenses incurred whilst working on your behalf will be charged and appropriate records will be kept and will be available for inspection. Such expenses may include the use of meeting rooms and other facilities, internal printing, postage & courier charges, and international but not national telephone calls.

6. Retaining and Accessing Records

6.1. Any information produced or relating to the work we undertake for you will be returned to you upon termination of services or on request and should be kept for a period of no less than 6 years from the end of the tax year in question.

6.2. You agree that any work completed and work in progress for which payment is outstanding will be held by us until all fees relating to it have been paid.

7. Confidentiality and conflicts

7.1. We agree never to share information relating to your business with any third party without prior consent, unless required to do so by law or to comply with regulations or quality control reviews. Likewise, you agree not to use or copy or allow use of the output of the work we do for you with a third party without our prior permission.

7.2. You recognise that we may have to stop providing services to you in the event that a conflict arises between our duties to you and to another client. You will notify us if you have any reason to believe that such a conflict has arisen or may arise.

7.3. We may communicate with you electronically and you accept the risks associated with such communications, except anything arising through our negligence or wilful default.

7.4. We reserve the right, for the purposes of promotional activity, training or for similar business purpose, to mention that you are a client. As stated above we will not disclose any confidential information.

7.5. We reserve the right during our engagement with you to deliver services to other clients whose interests
might compete with yours or are or may be averse to yours. We confirm that we will
notify you immediately should we become aware of any conflict of interest involving us and affecting you,
unless we are unable to do so because of our confidentiality obligations. We have safeguards that can be implemented to protect the interests of different clients if a conflict arises. Where conflicts are identified
which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interest then we regret that we will be unable to
provide further services.

8. Legislation and compliance

8.1. We are obliged by law and by CIMA to undertake checks to ensure that you and your business are operating lawfully. By agreeing to our terms of engagement you accept that we are authorised to complete such checks as necessary.

8.2. Under Money Laundering Regulations it is a criminal offence if we do not report suspicious transactions or if we inform a client that a report has been made against them.

9. Liability

9.1. As Chartered Management Accountants, we have a duty of care to you and we must observe the highest standards of conduct and integrity. Our services to you will only be completed by an accountant fully competent to perform such work.

9.2. Where any loss or damage occurs as the result of you providing misleading, incomplete or false information no liability will be accepted.

9.3. The advice we give you is personal to you and your company and must not to be used by a third party without our written consent. We accept no legal responsibility for any third-party use of the financial information provided by us to you.

9.4. You agree that while the tax documents are prepared with our assistance, the ultimate responsibility in law rests with you as to their accuracy and completeness.

9.5. You agree that you are liable to pay your taxes to HM Revenue & Customs and under no circumstances we should be responsible to pay your tax liability and/or any penalties or interests raised by HM Revenue & Customs on your behalf.

10. Complaints and disputes

10.1. We want you to be entirely satisfied with the services provided to you. If, however, you are not, please refer to the Complaints Handling Procedure at Annex 2 of this letter. Any disputes arising from our engagement by you will, subject to the procedure at Annex 2, be governed by English law.

10.2. If a complaint cannot be resolved through our internal complaints handling procedure, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 we are required to point you towards alternative dispute resolution (ADR) providers. There are many ADR providers listed on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute website but CIMA has an arrangement with CEDR for the provision of ADR. More information is available on the CIMAGlobal website.

10.3. You agree without following complaints handling procedures you will not make any public announcement of the issues via social media or other publications.

11. Data Protection

11.1. We confirm that we will comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when processing personal data about you your directors and employees.
Processing means:

• obtaining, recording or holding personal data; or
• carrying out any operation or set of operations on personal data, including collecting and storage, organising, adapting, altering, using, disclosure (by any means) or removing (by any means) from the records manual and digital.

11.2. The information we obtain, process, use and disclose will be necessary for:

• the performance of the contract
• to comply with our legal and regulatory compliance and crime prevention
• contacting you with details of other services where you have consented to us doing so
• other legitimate interests relating to protection against potential claims and disciplinary action against us.

This includes, but is not limited to, purposes such as updating and enhancing our client records, analysis for management purposes and statutory returns.

11.3. In regard to our professional obligations we are a member firm of the CIMA. Under the ethical and regulatory rules of CIMA we are required to allow access to client files and records for the purpose of maintaining our membership of this body.

12. Termination or Material Changes

12.1. Our engagement will conclude and terminated once we complete the provision of Property Capital Gains Tax service.

12.2. You or we may terminate our engagement by giving no less than 21 days written notice except where you fail to cooperate with us or we have reason to believe that you have provided us or HMRC with misleading information, in which case we may terminate this agreement immediately. Termination will be without prejudice to any rights that may have accrued to either party prior to termination.

12.3. All documents and information provided by you will be returned to you on request provided that all outstanding fees have been paid.
If you fail to collect such records within three months of the date of disengagement, we cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping and we may return any original documents to your last known address and will destroy any other documents and records that we hold without further notice.

12.4. We will not be liable to provide for or compensate for any service outstanding or deemed outstanding after the 30 days’ notice period has expired.

12.5. Any material changes to the terms of this agreement can be made by mutual consent by giving a minimum of 1 weeks’ notice.

Yours sincerely,

2E Accountants Ltd.

ANNEX 1 Schedule of Services

 The following Annex lists standard services available at the time of this engagement.

ANNEX 2

CIMA– COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

CIMA Member in Practice 

1. Purpose

1.1. We 2E Accountants are committed to upholding best practice through a high-quality service to all our clients. This Annex sets out the procedure we will operate in dealing with complaints arising from the provision of services under our letter of engagement.

2. Raising an Issue

2.1. In the first instance please contact account manager at admin@PropertyCapitalGainsTax.uk to discuss any concerns you have, so that the matter can be looked into immediately.

3. Making an Informal Complaint

3.1. An informal complaint can be made by telephone, or by speaking, face to face or in writing to 2E Accountants – Unit 11, Flamingo Court, 81 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3BF and admin@2eAccountants.co.uk. If the matter is not resolved at this stage, and you have not already issued a complaint in writing, you should do so. Please include specific details so that the matter can be thoroughly investigated.

4. Making a Formal Complaint

4.1. Upon receipt of your written formal complaint an acknowledgement will be sent to you within 10 working days. The name and contact details of the person who will be dealing with your case will be supplied to you at this point.

4.2. Within 28 working days from receipt of your written complaint you will receive in writing a summary of our understanding of your complaint. You will be asked at this time to provide any further evidence or information regarding the complaint and to confirm that we have understood all your concerns.

4.3. Following such confirmation, we will investigate the matter and write to you in reply within 14 working days unless it becomes apparent to us that the investigation may not be completed within this timescale. In these circumstances, a written explanation will be sent to you including a progress report. When a substantive reply is sent to you, a summary of findings will be included along with details of any further action to be taken.

5. If you are not satisfied

5.1. For service-related matters involving a CIMA member in Practice in the UK, you may wish to know that CIMA offers an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) facility for members of the public.

5.2. If in the context of your dealings with us or the handling of your complaint, you believe that a member of CIMA has been guilty of misconduct, you may lodge a complaint with the Professional Conduct department of the Institute.

5.3. Further information on ADR or making a complaint about alleged misconduct can be found on the CIMA website at www.cimaglobal.com.