Guide on Authorising Representation with Welsh Revenue Authority for Tax Matters

Authorising Someone to Deal with the Welsh Revenue Authority

The Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) will only let someone deal with your tax affairs if they have proper authority. This can happen in 2 main ways: you give someone permission to act for you in tax matters, or they already hold a valid power of attorney and provide evidence of it to the WRA.

• The WRA recognises 2 separate routes: direct authorisation by the taxpayer, or an existing power of attorney.
• A person acting for you could be a tax adviser, accountant, friend, or family member, if you authorise them.
• If someone relies on a power of attorney, the WRA will expect proof before accepting that they can act for you.
• The 2 routes may lead to the same result, but they are legally different and should not be treated as the same thing.
• This guidance is only a starting point and does not explain the full process, evidence needed, scope of authority, or how authority ends.
• You should check the WRA’s separate guidance on authority to act and power of attorney for the detailed rules.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Authorising someone to deal with the Welsh Revenue Authority on your behalf

This page explains the basic ways another person can deal with the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) for you. In practice, this matters where a taxpayer wants an agent, adviser, friend or relative to handle tax matters, or where someone already has legal authority under a power of attorney and needs the WRA to recognise that authority.

What this rule is about

The source material is about authority to act. That means the legal or administrative basis on which one person can communicate with, or act before, the WRA for another person in relation to tax affairs.

The guidance identifies two distinct routes:

• a person is authorised by the taxpayer to act in their tax affairs
• a person already holds a power of attorney for the taxpayer and provides evidence of that to the WRA

Those routes are similar in outcome, because both allow someone else to deal with the WRA, but they are not the same thing. One is a direct permission given for tax matters. The other depends on an existing legal power of attorney.

What the official source says

The official guidance says there are two ways someone can act on behalf of someone else with the WRA:

• the taxpayer can authorise someone to act for them in their tax affairs, such as a tax professional, friend or relative
• if a person already holds power of attorney for someone else, they can tell the WRA that they act for that person by providing evidence

The source also points readers to separate pages on how authority to act works, how to give permission, and power of attorney. It additionally states that information provided will be used in line with the WRA privacy policy.

What this means in practice

The practical point is that the WRA will not simply assume that one person can speak or act for another. Some recognised form of authority is needed.

If you want someone to help with your WRA tax affairs, the first question is whether you are giving them permission now, or whether they already have legal authority under a power of attorney.

An ordinary authorisation may suit common situations, for example where:

• a tax adviser is dealing with Land Transaction Tax matters
• a family member is helping with correspondence
• a friend is assisting because the taxpayer finds the process difficult

A power of attorney route is different. It applies where legal authority already exists and the WRA needs evidence of it before recognising the attorney as acting for the taxpayer.

The source does not set out on this page exactly what powers an authorised person will have, what form the authorisation must take, or what evidence is required for a power of attorney. It only establishes the two routes and directs readers to further guidance.

How to analyse it

If you are working out how someone should deal with the WRA on another person’s behalf, the source suggests a simple framework.

• Identify who the taxpayer is and who wants to act for them.
• Ask whether the taxpayer is personally authorising that person now, or whether the person already has power of attorney.
• If it is a direct authorisation, consider whether the person is acting as a professional agent, a friend, or a relative.
• If it is a power of attorney case, identify what evidence the WRA will need to see.
• Check the WRA’s separate guidance on how authority to act works and on power of attorney, because this overview page does not contain the operational detail.

For conveyancers and advisers dealing with LTT matters, the key practical question is not just who is helping, but on what basis the WRA will accept that help as authorised.

Example

Illustration: A taxpayer is dealing with a land transaction and wants their accountant to correspond with the WRA about the tax position. If the accountant does not already hold a power of attorney, the relevant route is for the taxpayer to authorise the accountant to act in their tax affairs.

By contrast, if the taxpayer has lost capacity and their adult child already holds a valid power of attorney, the child would not be relying on a fresh informal permission. Instead, they would notify the WRA and provide evidence of the power of attorney.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The main difficulty is that people often treat all forms of representation as if they were the same. They are not. An agent appointment, a family member helping informally, and a legal power of attorney can have different legal foundations.

This overview page is also intentionally brief. It does not answer questions such as:

• what exact evidence the WRA will accept
• whether authority is limited to particular taxes or periods
• whether the authorised person can only correspond, or can also make decisions or disclosures
• how long the authority lasts or how it is withdrawn

So the page is useful as a starting point, but not as a complete statement of the process or scope of authority.

Key takeaways

• The WRA recognises two main routes for one person to act for another: direct authorisation and power of attorney.
• A power of attorney is not the same as an ordinary authority to act; the WRA expects evidence where power of attorney is relied on.
• This overview page sets out the basic routes only, so the detailed process must be checked in the linked WRA guidance.

This page was last updated on

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guide on Authorising Representation with Welsh Revenue Authority for Tax Matters

View all WRA LTT Guidance Pages Here