Electronic sales suppression

The measure

The government will introduce new powers to make the possession, manufacture, distribution, and promotion of electronic sales suppression (ESS) software and hardware an offence. There will also be new ESS information powers allowing HMRC to identify developers and suppliers, and to access source code and the locations of code and data.

HMRC will use these powers to tackle tax evasion undertaken by businesses using software or hardware to hide or reduce the value of transactions and therefore their tax liabilities.

These measures follow a previous call for evidence.

Who will be affected?

Businesses involved in the manufacture, marketing and use of ESS software and hardware.

When will the measure come into effect?

The government will legislate in Finance Bill 2021 to 2022 and the measure will take effect from Royal Assent.