SAM11100 - Appeals, postponements and reviews: postponements: postponement application - revenue assessment

This subject supplements the guidance given in subject ‘Handling a formal standover’ (SAM11060) and gives further information in respect of a formal standover relating to a charge arising from a Revenue assessment (SAM20130).

A taxpayer or agent may appeal against a charge arising from a Revenue assessment and may also apply in writing to formally standover the charge.

When the postponement application is for less than the full amount of the charge be careful to take the special procedures relating to formal standovers. This will ensure that the due dates are correctly adjusted on the taxpayer’s SA record. If the following procedures are not followed any surcharge imposed upon the taxpayer may be incorrectly computed. Note: Surcharge was replaced by tax geared late filing penalties from April 2011 for 2010-11 and later tax years.

  • On the day the application is received

    • Use the Formal Standover option in function MAINTAIN STANDOVERS to formally standover all of the charge, even though the postponement application is for only part of the charge

  • On the following online day

    • Use the Formal Standover option in function MAINTAIN STANDOVERS to adjust the formal standover to the amount of the agreed postponement

  • If an informal standover was previously recorded against this charge and you have replaced all or part of it with a formal standover

    • Check that the informal standover has been correctly adjusted by the computer and make a further adjustment to the informal standover if necessary

Payments on account

In certain circumstances, when an assessment is made the SA payments on account for the year following the year of assessment are manually amended to take account of the revised liability.

If an appeal is received against the charge arising from an assessment and is accompanied by a postponement application

  • Check whether the following year’s payments on account were amended following the issue of the assessment

If so, you should informally standover any tax and/or Class 4 NIC forming part of the payments on account that relate to the postponement application against the assessment charge. A separate appeal against the payments on account is not required.

Examples are available at SAM20120 to clarify this situation

Amending the standover

If an amendment is made to the charge arising from a Revenue assessment any formal standover recorded against the charge will automatically be reduced to NIL.

If you want to amend the amount stoodover for any other reason use function MAINTAIN STANDOVERS.

If a Revenue assessment is amended then you will have to consider making an adjustment to any amounts informally stoodover that you recorded against the following year’s payments on account. These will not be automatically amended following the amendment of a charge arising from a Revenue assessment.

The entry on the ‘Open Appeals’ work list is automatically deleted when the appeal is closed and the formal standover is reduced to NIL.