About TDB

About us

In 2001 the Chartered Institute of Taxation (“the Institute”) and The Association of Taxation Technicians (‘the Association’) established an independent Taxation Disciplinary Scheme to manage complaints made regarding the professional conduct of members and students of the two bodies.

One of the objectives was to ensure that there was a common approach to procedures and philosophy in handling disciplinary matters, with a consequent improvement in efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, there was an awareness of the concepts of the Human Rights Act and in particular the need for complaints regarding alleged breaches of professional rules of conduct to be considered by committees and tribunals which are independent of the body establishing the rules. Therefore, the disciplinary arrangements, although established by the Institute and the Association, are administered through the independent Taxation Disciplinary Board Limited. Members of the various committees and tribunals set up by the Board consist of individuals who have no current involvement with the professional standards setting of the participating bodies.

The original Scheme covered all complaints received on or after 1 January 2001. Since then, the Scheme has been reviewed and amended in 2008 and 2016 to reflect changes in best practice and various court judgements affecting other regulatory bodies,

Details of the Scheme can be viewed here.

Overall responsibility for the Scheme rests with a small Board. The (lay) Chair is a joint appointee of the original two bodies. The other members are individual appointments made by the participating bodies, and a lay member.

The Scheme is accompanied by regulations governing the procedures which apply to the processing of complaints and disciplinary matters. The Scheme applies to allegations of professional misconduct, inadequate professional service, and conduct unbecoming a professional person. Although the arrangement originally applied only to members of the Institute and the Association, it was structured so that other tax bodies might join at a later stage.

The regulations have been updated effective from 1st January 2024 and can be found here.

The 2024 regulations provide that the TDB Operations Team undertake the initial assessment and examination of complaints. Unless the Reviewer is of the opinion that the complaint is trivial or out-of-time (in which case the complainant may request that the Reviewer’s decision be examined by an independent assessor), the TDB Operations Team will refer it to the Investigation Committee, having sought the members response to the complaint first.

The role of the Investigation Committee is to determine whether there is a prima facie case for the member to answer. Where the Investigation Committee finds that there is a prima facie case to answer, it will consider whether the case is appropriate for the Consent Order procedure. This involves the member agreeing to accept a sanction decided by the Investigation Committee. The Investigation Committee can impose any sanction that would be available to the Disciplinary Tribunal upon finding a charge proved. If the Consent Procedure is not appropriate, the Investigation Committee will refer the case to a Disciplinary Tribunal.

This Tribunal, which consists of three members, comprised of a legally qualified chair, a tax professional and lay member of the public, judges the case and, if satisfied that the member is guilty of a breach of the professional rules and standards to which members are subject, imposes the appropriate sanction. If the member is found guilty of an offence, the member has a right to appeal to an Appeal Tribunal.

One of the responsibilities of the Board is to appoint the members of the Investigation and Disciplinary Panels, from whom the Investigation Committee, Disciplinary Tribunal and Appeal Tribunal member are selected. In doing so the Board seeks to achieve a balance between lawyers, tax professionals and lay (i.e. non-tax technical) members. This is to ensure that there is a balanced review of the issues from a legal, technical, and practical viewpoint.

The aim of the Scheme is to provide protection for the public and the right level of discipline over members, as tax practice continues to play an increasingly key role in fiscal affairs; but the Scheme must at the same time operate fairly for members and respect their rights. If other tax bodies join the Scheme at some later date, it may provide a model for the whole of the tax profession.