GST search and investigation advice

Approach and deliverables

We help establish a chronology of communications, visits, summons and records requested. The immediate priority is accurate preservation of the existing evidence and clarity about who is authorised to respond.

Support can include a document inventory, reconciliation of transactions under inquiry and a briefing pack for counsel. Statements and submissions require careful factual review; speculation should not be presented as a verified business record.

Use a dated event log to connect each request with the records provided and the person who supplied them. Keep direct observations, document contents and unresolved questions distinct so the briefing pack does not turn an assumption into a statement of fact.

Records for the case file

• Official communications and authorisations received
• Inventory or acknowledgement of records taken
• Relevant transaction and stock records
• Earlier statements, payments and correspondence

Preserve original files and record where each copy came from. Match any inventory or acknowledgement to the documents available to the business, noting missing pages or uncertain descriptions for clarification. Subsequent working schedules should remain identifiable as analysis prepared from those records.

A practical example

When several staff hold parts of a transaction trail, compile a single evidence index showing the source of each document instead of creating inconsistent explanations.

For a transaction involving procurement, warehouse and finance teams, link the purchase instruction, receipt record and payment evidence in one index. If staff accounts differ, retain the difference for factual review instead of editing the source records to make them agree.

Engagement boundaries

No records should be concealed, altered or destroyed. Search, summons, arrest and prosecution questions require prompt advice from appropriately qualified counsel; this service does not promise immunity or a particular outcome.

The proposal states the period, procedural stage, drafting and appearance work included. Share the deadline during intake; a public enquiry does not appoint a representative or extend any statutory time limit.

The handover lists outstanding requests, records supplied and factual questions requiring the responsible employee or counsel. Agree who coordinates future communications and keep the submitted version of each response separate from internal drafts and working notes.