CISR48120 - Register and maintain subcontractor: Appeals against refusal or cancellation of Gross Payment Status: appeals involving evidence arising from S64(5)

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In most cases the refusal to grant gross payment status will arise from factors relating to the company’s own circumstances of compliance. It may have insufficient turnover or have defaulted on its tax obligations, for instance. In these cases there is no confidentially issue in the presentation of evidence.

However, where evidence supporting the refusal of a company application for gross payment status derives from a direction made under FA04/S64(5), the Tribunal caseworker may need to present evidence which relates to the confidential affairs of one or more directors of the company. This raises issues of confidentially where the hearing is attended by a number of company officers and their representatives.

In this situation, the Tribunal caseworker should ask the tribunal whether the qualifying conditions of particular directors or shareholders may be considered separately. This is to preserve the confidentially of the individual taxpayer’s affairs. If the tribunal agrees, and the appellants raise no objection, bear in mind that someone representing the company still needs to be present at all stages of the hearing.

If you consider that fully demonstrating the failings of absent directors or shareholders is crucial to your case, you should advise the Tribunal Service of this and request that these persons be summoned to allow those individuals to be present at a future tribunal hearing.

Those persons being summoned by the tribunal have the option to have the summons set aside if they did not have the opportunity to object to it before it was made or issued. If this happens or if the Tribunal refuse to issue a summons, or the appellants object to your proposal, you may proceed with the appeal subject to the following consideration where the refusal is based wholly or partly on the failings of directors or shareholders who are not present (or professionally represented) at the hearing.

You may only refer to the circumstances of such directors or shareholders in general terms. They should not be named since they have not had the opportunity to object to the discussion of their affairs in a wider hearing.