CH405356 - Charging penalties: suspending penalties: managing suspensions: checking specific conditions

You should be satisfied the agreed suspension conditions have been fully met.

The person will have already confirmed their compliance by completing and returning the NPPS11 Certificate of compliance. If the case has been selected for checking and has passed the generic checks then you must now check that the specific conditions have been met. You must establish that the signed Certificate of compliance, or other written confirmation, is accurate.

The check you carry out should not be a verbal or written statement replicating what the person has already confirmed on the NPPS11 certificate.

You must decide the most appropriate way to check that the specific conditions have been met. The check can be done

  • by telephone
  • by letter
  • a review of relevant documents
  • a visit.

Central Penalty Team (CPT) cases

When the checks have been completed you must update NPPS with the outcome of the check. See COG90000

You must also inform the CPT, by email, whether or not the specific conditions have been met. The CPT will either cancel or activate the penalty and inform the person.

Cases not managed by CPT

When you have completed your check of the specific conditions you must update the NPPS with the outcome of your check.

If the case is a non-Caseflow case then you should ask your nominee to input information onto the NPPS record in order to generate the relevant notices before resolving the case.

If the penalty is to be cancelled

  • issue NPPS15 to advise the person that they have complied with the conditions
  • note the case ‘resolved - no further action’.

If the penalty is to be enforced

  • issue NPPS16 to advise the person that a check has revealed they have not complied with the conditions
  • note the case ‘reactivate suspended penalty’ from [Take action] box on NPPS
  • select ‘suspension conditions met?’ then ‘did not meet conditions’
  • enter your name as decision maker and use free text box to complete the reason for your decision.

See CH405354 for detailed action to take to activate a suspended penalty.

The person has no right of appeal against HMRC’s decisions at the end of a suspension period. In cases of disagreement the CPT Officer (or you) should seek advice from their manager.

Where an inaccurate return is submitted during the suspension period, but the inaccuracy is not discovered until after the penalty has been cancelled, we cannot bring the penalty back into charge. (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)