PAYE47011 - Employer returns: employer return - overpayments: authorising officer's guide (Action Guide)

If you are required to authorise the disposal of an overpayment follow steps 1 - 15 below. The Guide is presented as follows

Initial action Steps 1 - 3
Authorising overpayments using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL Steps 4 - 5
Changing or cancelling an overpayment

Step 6
Action to be taken by the Repayment Security Officer Steps 7 - 9
Authorising overpayments using a form P565
 		 Steps 10 - 11
Mistake made whilst completing form P565 Step 12
Reissue form P565 where the original has not been received by Banking Operations Steps 13 - 14
Action to be taken by the Repayment Security Officer Steps 15

For details of how to access any of the Employer Business Service functions, use PAYE057.

Initial action

1. On receipt of details of the overpayment and supporting evidence from the officer investigating the overpayment you must review all the evidence supplied to satisfy yourself that

For overpayments relating to a year from 2005 onwards

  • The captured return displays a Return Status Indicator (RSI) of either RSI 2 or RSI 3 in the View EOY Returns History screen

For all years

  • Full amount of the overpayment has been substantiated and is correct
  • The disposal instructions are correct

 And

  • The letter to be issued to the employer / contractor advising them about the overpayment is correct

Note: A letter is not required when £500 or less is reallocated to the current year (CY) using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL because BROCS will automatically issue a letter.

You must also consider whether there is any possibility of money laundering, for example

  • Has the employer regularly received substantial repayments at the end of each tax year

 And / or

  • Has the employer either regularly overpaid their monthly remittances, or overpaid a monthly remittance by a large amount

 And / or

  • Has the employer received substantial or regular repayments in year, from Banking Operations (see BROCS format 3)

If you

  • Consider that there may be a possibility of money laundering go to step 2
  • Are satisfied that there is no suspicion of money laundering go to step 3

2. If you consider that there may be a possibility of money laundering refer the following to the Repayment Security Officer (RSO)

 And

  • A report giving a full explanation of your suspicions together with the evidence to support your suspicions

3. If you are satisfied from the evidence provided that the overpayment has been fully substantiated and is correct

  • If the disposal instruction has been made using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL go to step 4

 Or

  • If the disposal instruction has been made on a form P565 Request Stencil go to step 10

           Otherwise

If you believe that the apparent overpayment has not been satisfactorily substantiated and / or the disposal instructions or letter for issue to the employer / contractor is incorrect, return the papers to the relevant officer requesting that they

  • Supply a full explanation of any discrepancies and where applicable rework the case

 And / or

  • Prepare a revised letter for issue to the employer / contractor

If the overpayment disposal instruction has been made using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL

  • Use Function AUTHORISE OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL to delete the case from the list of unauthorised overpayment disposals

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Authorising overpayments using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL

4. Use Function AUTHORISE OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL and select the row relating to the disposal instruction you have reviewed

  • Select the ‘Authorise’ radio button and then select the [OK] button
  • As there is no automatic screen print produced when using this function, after you have disposed of the overpayment take a screen print and retain this with the overpayment papers

5. Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER NOTES to record your actions and provide details of the overpayment disposal.

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Changing or cancelling an overpayment

6. An overpayment that has been processed can be amended or cancelled using Function OVERPAYMENT DISPOSAL but only during the same on-line day that the function had been used to originally dispose of that overpayment.

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Action to be taken by the Repayment Security Officer

Each day the Repayment Security Officer (RSO) must perform R400 checks on all new cases appearing on the Pre-Repayment Security List.

7. Use function REPAYMENT SECURITY to

  • View the Pre-Repayment Security list
  • Perform R400 checks on every new case displayed on the Pre-Repayment Security List
  • Obtain details of the overpayment and supporting evidence from the authorising officer

Your next action will depend on whether the apparent overpayment has been satisfactorily substantiated

  • If you are satisfied the overpayment is substantiated - go to step 8

 Or

  • If you are not satisfied the overpayment is substantiated - go to step 9

Where you are satisfied that the overpayment disposal is appropriate for release

8. Use function REPAYMENT SECURITY to ‘Release’ the disposal

  • Check the content of the letter to be issued to the employer / contractor advising them of how the overpayment has been disposed of
  • File a copy of the letter and the papers in the employer pad

If you believe that the apparent overpayment has not been satisfactorily substantiated and / or the disposal instructions are incorrect

9. Return the papers to the authorising officer to arrange for the relevant officer to

  • Supply a full explanation of the discrepancies

 And where applicable

  • Re-work the case

 And

  • Prepare a revised letter for issue to the employer / contractor

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Authorising overpayments using a form P565

10. Complete the next available form P565 (PDF 26KB) in your P565 pad with details of the overpayment and disposal instructions

Note: Crossing out, overwriting, use of tipex or corrections of any kind are not acceptable on a form P565. If a mistake is made whilst completing a form P565 go to step 12.

When completing the form P565 you must

  • Complete the form P565 in accordance with 'Form P565 (Action Guide)' at PAYE47046
  • Ensure that any notes relating to special circumstances in the ‘Report of Overpayment’ box on the P565 Request Stencil, for example ‘CIS deductions’ are transferred to the special circumstances box on the form P565
  • Ensure that any additional information, such as SAFE references or CT references and Account Period are transferred from the ‘Form P565 - Request Stencil from Compliance Officer’. Example of presentation of CT information ‘Compliance request 01/10/08 to set off against CT for year ended 31/12/07’, giving the date on which the employer requested the re-allocation, for example ‘Date request received 30/06/08’
  • Authorise the form P565 by completing the ‘Authorising Officer’s’ signature box on the form P565
  • Detach all three copies of the P565 from the P565 pad for referral to the RSO
  • Use Function AMEND EMPLOYER NOTES to record your actions and provide details of the overpayment disposal

11. Refer the following to the RSO

  • All three copies of the completed form P565
  • The P565 Request Stencil
  • All supporting evidence and documentation
  • The letter to the employer / contractor advising them of how the overpayment has been disposed of
  • Any supporting information from the employer record pad

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Mistake made whilst completing form P565

12. If you make a mistake whilst completing a form P565 you must cancel the form P565 as follows

  • You must ensure that you have all 3 copies of the completed form P565
  • Place each copy of the form P565 on top of each other in their correct order. (This will ensure that whatever is written on the top copy of the form P565 is copied through to the other 2 copies)
  • Rule two lines diagonally across the whole of the form and write in between the lines ‘cancelled’
  • Initial and date the form P565
  • Staple all three copies of the form P565 together and refer them to the RSO

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Reissue form P565 where the original has not been received by Banking Operations

An employer / contractor may contact the employer unit to report that they have not received a repayment they were expecting. If an overpayment disposal instruction had been made using the form P565 process then check whether the form P565 has been received by Banking Operations as follows

13. Use Function VIEW BROCS to ensure that the overpayment is still outstanding and whether any notes have been added by Banking Operations about the overpayment disposal.

14. Where a form P565 has not been actioned by Banking Operations the following action must be taken

  • Ascertain the date that the form was prepared and despatched by the RSO to Banking Operations
  • Send a memo to Banking Operations at the appropriate Accounts Office and ask them to check whether the form P565 has been received

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

If the form P565 has not been received by Banking Operations within ten working days of despatch by the RSO and the original cannot be cancelled in accordance with step 12 above, then the following action must be taken

  • Obtain the form P565 (Part 2) and the original papers from the employer pad
  • Use Function VIEW BROCS to ensure that the overpayment is still outstanding and has not been cleared by Banking Operations using the original form
  • Use Function EMPLOYER NOTES to record that the original form P565 has not been received by Banking Operations and is being cancelled, giving the Consecutive Number
  • Pass the form P565 (Part 2) to the authorising officer together with a record of any telephone calls or memos giving details of the checks made with Banking Operations
  • The authorising officer will cancel form P565 (Part 2) and enter in red the consecutive number of the replacement P565 in the Special Circumstances box. They will then issue a replacement form P565 giving details in the Special Circumstances box of the reason for issuing the replacement and the consecutive number of the original form
  • The cancelled form P565 (Part 2) and the replacement form will be forwarded to the RSO. The RSO will file the cancelled form P565 (Part 2) with the original form P565 (Part 3). The replacement form P565 will be dealt with in accordance with step 15
  • If either the original or the replacement form P565 is subsequently received by Banking Operations after the instructions have already been actioned and the overpayment has been cleared, then Banking Operations must return the form P565 (Part 1) to the Repayment Security Officer with a note of the circumstances so that it can be cancelled
  • When a form P565 (Part 1) is returned to the RSO this should be cancelled and filed with the other copies of the cancelled form

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Action to be taken by the Repayment Security Officer

15. On receipt of the forms P565 and all the relevant documentation from the authorising officer, the RSO must

  • Complete the ‘Repayment Security Officer’s signature box on every form P565 in order to confirm that the form P565 has been despatched via the RSO
  • Where appropriate, consider undertaking the R400 checks
  • Despatch the form P565 (Part 1) to Banking Operations in a sealed envelope, using normal none tracked post. (This must be done on a daily basis)
  • File the form P565 (Part 3) in their Form P565 Security File
  • Issue the letter to the employer / contractor advising them of how the overpayment has been disposed of
  • File the papers listed below in the employer record pad

Form P565 (Part 2)

The copy letter issued to the employer / contractor

 And

All associated documentation

Note: Where the employer record pad is held remotely to the RSO, the RSO must follow their existing procedures to ensure that the copy P565 and all associated documentation are filed in the employer record pad.