Home / United Kingdom (England & Wales) / Tax evasion (cheating the public revenue and statutory evasion)
Tax evasion (cheating the public revenue and statutory evasion)Possibly — unconfirmed
Reported range, not yet confirmed against official text. Do not rely on this — awaiting confirmation.
Statutory range — reported, not yet confirmed
Cheat the public revenue — common law (on indictment only)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Up to life
- Fine
- — (fine not stated in source retrieved)
Sentencing Council guideline offence range 3–17 years (guideline only).
Summary — VAT / income tax / excise evasionPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Not stated in source retrieved (either-way)
- Fine
- — (fine not stated in source retrieved)
Summary maxima not stated in source retrieved — needs re-check.
On indictment — VAT evasion (VATA 1994 s. 72); income-tax evasion (TMA 1970 s. 106A); excise evasion / improper importation (CEMA 1979 ss. 50, 170, 170B)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- 0 (no mandatory prison) – 14 years
- Fine
- — (fine not stated in source retrieved)
0 = the law sets no minimum prison term. The court is not required to impose prison. Depending on the offence, jurisdiction, and case, it may instead impose a non-custodial sentence — e.g. a suspended sentence, community order / probation, a fine, or a discharge.
14 years for offences on/after 22 Feb 2024; 7 years before that date.
PARTIAL: figures from the Sentencing Council revenue-fraud guideline (official). The statutory penalty clauses were not read from legislation.gov.uk in this pass, and no fine figures were stated in the source retrieved. Statutory 14-year maximum applies to offences committed on/after 22 Feb 2024; before that the statutory maximum was 7 years. Sentencing Council guideline offence range for cheat the public revenue is 3–17 years (guideline, not statute).