Taxman to make spot checks on accounts

Optical practices that flout accounting record rules face fines of up to £3,000 if they fail soon-to-be-implemented 'spot checks' by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Later this year tax inspectors will start visiting companies, without any notice, and asking to see the main documents that form the accounting records.

Marc Bennett of tax consultants AEL Partners said: 'Practices will be included in the population of some two million small companies being targeted. HM Revenue & Customs has indicated that the tax inspectors will look primarily at till receipts and credit card statements and to see that these documents are reconciled to bankings.'

Bennett confirmed that this would give the inspectors the power to check current year records before accounts had been prepared and checked by a company's accountants. He added that optical businesses taking out dividends would need the records to prove that and have their systems right to back them up.