EM1955 - Working the Enquiry: Jeopardy Amendments: Appeals
Appeals
The taxpayer may appeal to HMRC within 30 days against the jeopardy amendment.
You should not however attempt to settle the appeal until after the enquiry is completed.
The taxpayer cannot request a review or appeal to the tribunal during an enquiry in respect of the jeopardy amendment itself until the matters to which the jeopardy amendment relate are closed by a partial or final closure notice. The can however appeal to the tribunal if they disagree with your decision about any postponement application they may make.
You should bear in mind that the taxpayer does not have to apply for postponement at the same time as they appeal against the amendment. You cannot however accept a postponement application if there is no related appeal.
Postponement Applications
Even though the taxpayer cannot request a review or appeal to the tribunal about the making of a jeopardy amendment during an enquiry. They can make a postponement application in the normal way, see ARTG2510.
Little is achieved by making a jeopardy amendment and then accepting an application for postponement of the full amount of the tax. Any postponement application should therefore be considered carefully. If you are uncertain about the degree to which our ability to collect that tax that is charged by the jeopardy amendment is at risk, you should contact DMB for guidance.
If you cannot agree with the taxpayer about the amount that should be postponed, you must write to them to formally notify them of any amount of tax you agree can be postponed and the amount payable.
The letter should explain that if the taxpayer agrees with the amount, they should pay any tax shown as payable.
If the taxpayer disagrees with the amount you have agreed to postpone, they should write to the tribunal within 30 days of the notification to ask it to decide the amount to be postponed, see ARTG2530. There is no right to a statutory review.
There is further guidance in the Self Assessment Manual (SAM) about
- handling an appeal against a charge based item, see SAM10060, and
- handling a formal standover, see SAM11060
Where any disputes arise, or you reach an impasse, you should consider whether Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) may help you and the taxpayer resolve these. See the ADR web pages for guidance about ADR. ADR is not however suitable for cases where the taxpayer has refused to co-operate or has withdrawn co-operation
Where a jeopardy amendment is under appeal you may have agreed the amount of tax to be postponed or the tribunal may have determined the amount.
If you subsequently receive more information and believe the tax postponed is excessive, you should agree a revised figure of tax with the taxpayer, or refer the application back to the tribunal, see ARTG2540.