DST68600 - Appeals: handling appeals and postponements

Processing appeals and postponements against tax charges

An appeal and request for postponement relating to a tax charge should be made:

  • by the responsible member or their agent,
  • in writing. HMRC can accept an appeal made by email if HMRC is satisfied that it has been sent by the responsible member or their agent from a known and trusted email address,
  • to the office responsible for DST processing (this can be done in a letter to the Officer who raised the assessment or amendment, or by email to the DST Mailbox [email protected]).

HMRC will only suspend collection when HMRC considers that there are valid grounds for appeal.

HMRC will not postpone collection of the tax when:

  • the appeal is not in writing or made by email and HMRC is not satisfied that it has been sent by the responsible member or their agent from a known and trusted email address,
  • there is no application for postponement of the tax,
  • HMRC consider the correspondence does not constitute a genuine appeal but is simply a delaying tactic.

Appeals against penalties

A person may appeal against a penalty that is payable by that person. Any penalty is automatically postponed once appealed. This means that no action can be taken to collect a penalty while it remains under appeal. An appeal against a penalty must be made in writing by the person that is required to pay the penalty, this will usually be the Responsible Member. HMRC can accept an appeal made by email if HMRC is satisfied that it has been sent by the person or their agent from a known and trusted email address.

On receipt of a valid appeal against a penalty, HMRC must:

  • record receipt of the appeal and postpone any amount remaining unpaid on the penalty charge,
  • actively manage the postponement and appeal.

Correspondence

HMRC must treat correspondence that disputes the amount of tax or penalty charged as a potential appeal.

Interest objections

Late payment interest is charged on unpaid DST from the payment due date to the date the payment is received, regardless of whether an appeal has been made or any amount has been postponed.

Formal applications for postponement

A formal application for postponement may also be included with the appeal. ARTG2070 in the Appeals Reviews and Tribunals Guidance gives guidance to the decision maker on whether to accept an appeal but does not explicitly cover postponements. The postponement application is normally considered at the same time as the appeal by the decision maker.

Decision makers

Decision makers should consider the following points when deciding whether to accept a postponement application:

  • Carefully consider each postponement application on its own merits.
  • Look at the tax implications. For example, if the tax due is £20,000 and the company asks for it all to be postponed, is it likely that part of the tax will become payable in any event? If so, HMRC must negotiate with the company or agent to agree a lesser postponement.

Identifying the case owner

Once a postponement has been recorded, HMRC must identify the case owner. This could be the decision maker, the caseworker or someone else with an interest or responsibility. The case owner must actively manage the postponement.