HMRC has issued three new guidance documents on the new obligation to register and maintain trust information on its Trust Registration Service (TRS).

The documents explain when HMRC will issue a penalty charge for not registering a trust or not keeping the entry up to date, how to ask for a review or appeal the charge and how to pay it. The penalty can be up to GBP5,000 if HMRC suspects deliberate non-compliance.

HMRC will take decisions on whether to issue a penalty on a case-by-case basis. 'Registering a trust is a new requirement and we recognise that trustees may not be familiar with the process', says the guidance. 'We will not charge you a penalty if we find out that you have failed to register or to maintain a trust, as long as this was not deliberate behaviour [and] you take action to correct this within the time limit we set. We will only charge you a penalty if we decide you deliberately failed to register a trust or to update its details'...