SAM11110 - Appeals, postponements and reviews: postponements: postponement application - revenue amendment

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 Revenue amendment (SAM21020), including a Jeopardy amendment (SAM21010).

A taxpayer or agent may appeal against a charge arising from a Revenue amendment 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. 

  • 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

Over-repayments 

Where a Revenue amendment results in an over-repayment, it is not possible to formally standover the over-repayment item on the SA statement. In these circumstances, where the taxpayer appeals and any postponement application includes all or part of the over-repayment charge, this needs to be informally stoodover.

Payments on account 

When the return charge for the year of self assessment is amended by a Revenue amendment then the following year’s SA payments on account are automatically updated to reflect the revised liability.

It follows that if part of the additional liability created by the Revenue amendment is being formally stoodover following a postponement application then a similar part of the following year’s increased payments on account should also be postponed. This should be done by informal standover. A separate appeal against the payments on account is not required.

Amending the standover 

If the return charge arising from a Revenue amendment is amended, any formal standover recorded against the charge will automatically be reduced to NIL. However, if an informal standover was recorded on a related over-repayment charge it may not be cancelled and must be reviewed. It may need further amendment or, more likely, reducing to NIL.

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

When you amended the return charge using a Revenue amendment the following year’s payments on account would have been automatically adjusted. You may subsequently have informally stoodover all or part of the increased payments on account for the following year. If these are reduced following the amendment of the previous year’s return charge then the informal standovers will also be automatically reduced. However, the informal standovers relating to these payments on account should be checked using function MAINTAIN STANDOVERS. They may need further amendment or, more likely, reducing to NIL.

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