DO

DO NOT

Choose the location.

Just agree to meet at the tax office without thinking about where you would prefer to meet.

Have your accountant or a colleague attend with you. They can provide moral support, clarify your comments and help clarify the Inspector’s questions.

Go to a meeting on your own.

Think before you answer specific questions.

Guess at an answer or, even worse, lie.

Arrive on time.

Arrive late or rush. 

Find out who everyone at the meeting is. The Inspector may bring a colleague along to make notes. Find out why the colleague is at the meeting.

Assume that any colleague should be ignored. They may be there for a specific reason that you should know.

Ask for an adjournment to talk privately to your accountant if you wish. It can sometimes be necessary to end the meeting early for a variety of reasons.

Feel that the whole meeting must continue without a break. Ask for a break unnecessarily – only if you feel it would help you.

Make notes if you wish. Ask the Inspector to correct his notes for errors or omissions.

Feel you have to sign the Inspector’s notes if he asks. They may be wrong or misleading but if you have signed a copy you could be assumed to have agreed to them.

Remain polite and treat the meeting seriously.

Become rude, aggressive, obstructive or just difficult.