EM6402A - Contract settlements: acceptance: authorisation levels - WMBC Mid-Sized Businesses
The guidance about contract settlements at EM6000+ only relates to direct tax. You must never include VAT or VAT penalties in a contract settlement.
All letters of offer and acceptance of the offer must be authorised by either your Manager or another Authorising Officer.
You must always ensure that a full audit trail of contract authorisations for both the offer and acceptance is recorded digitally, for example in Caseflow, and within any paper file.
Offers of £500,000 or more must be authorised by following the guidance in the table below.
Authorisation - settlements of £500,000 or more
| MSB work area | Authorisation limits (total value of offer) |
Authorised by |
|---|---|---|
| MSB Complex Evasion Programme (CEP) team: CEP Direct Taxes (CT/IT) and CEP Employer Duties | Up to £1million | MSB Evasion G6 |
| MSB Complex Evasion Programme (CEP) team: CEP Direct Taxes (CT/IT) and CEP Employer Duties | Over £1million | A second MSB Evasion G6 |
| MSB Direct Taxes team (not CEP) | Over £1million | G6 Direct Tax manager or functional lead |
MSB Employer Duties team (not CEP) |
1) The total liabilities amount to £1 million or more; 2) The 'voluntary' grossed up settle amounts to £1 million or more; 3) The combined totals of both of the above which amount to £1 million or more; 4) A penalty only offer where the underlying duties amount to £1 million or more; 5) An instalment arrangement will exceed 3 years; 6) The offer differs from the expected amount to the extent that it cannot be accepted locally |
For all of 1) to 6) - MSB ED Grade 7 approval through mailbox |
For details about who to contact for this higher level of authorisation, see the Complex Evasion Programme (CEP) webpage for a list of MSB Evasions Grade 6’s.