COM10120 - Appeals: handling appeals and postponements: Actively managing postponements and standovers

Before you formally postpone or informally standover any amount on COTAX or SAFE, you must make sure you have followed this guidance and considered if the postponement or standover is acceptable.

Where it is and you have used function HAPP (Handle Appeals) in COTAX or have advised the nominated SAFE user to make a standover, the case is listed on the LASO (Open Appeals and Standovers) work list for COTAX cases, or appears on the quarterly SAFE standovers review list.

At this stage a case owner must be agreed. This may be the decision maker, the caseworker or someone else with an interest or responsibility.

The case remains the responsibility of the owner until the postponement or standover is cleared or a new case owner takes responsibility.

The case owner is responsible for the case and must ensure, besides managing any appeal, that the postponement or standover is activelymanaged.

Actively managing the postponement or standover involves taking the following essential actions.

  • Regularly reviewing the case to ensure we collect the right amount of tax at the right time and that amounts do not remain postponed or stoodover when they should either be amended or released for collection.
  • Appointing a readily identifiable owner of the postponement or standover throughout its existence and noting their details on the COTAX record or the SAFE list.
  • Noting a readily identifiable manager on COTAX or the SAFE list throughout the life of a postponement or standover.
  • Carrying out regular B/F reviews of each postponement or standover, with no more than six months between each review.
  • Carrying out regular manager reviews, with no more than 12 months between each review.

Directorates must also carry out periodic reviews on sample cases so they can provide regular assurance to the CTIS CT Process team or National Audit Office that the above actions have been carried out.

To do this the work list reviewer’s manager should filter the LASO work list by date of entry and check:

  • expired B/Fs
  • cases more than 18 months old
  • cases at each 12 month point thereafter.