For most tax matters there are statutory appeal procedures which
enable disputes between the taxpayer and HMRC to be settled but
there in some instances the taxpayer has no specific right of
appeal to the Commissioners against a decision by the HMRC. This
arises particularly where the decision is made in the context of
the exercise of the Board's discretion, for example a decision
regarding the acceptance of a late claim.
If the taxpayer is not satisfied with such a decision you
should tell him or her that s/he can ask the Adjudicator to review
our decision and to consider whether or not we followed the correct
processes in reaching our decision and whether or not the decision
was wholly unreasonable. Alternatively, the taxpayer can, through
his or her MP, ask the Parliamentary Ombudsman to review our
decision.
In particular, the Adjudicator or the Ombudsman will consider
whether we made our decision without pre-judging the issue, whether
we considered all the relevant facts and gave proper weight to
them, and whether the taxpayer was given an opportunity to put
forward any relevant information. Neither the Adjudicator nor the
Ombudsman can substitute their judgement for ours, but if the
decision-making process is found to have been flawed, or our
decision was wholly unreasonable, they can recommend appropriate
redress.
You should also tell the taxpayer that while tax law does not
give the taxpayer a specific right of appeal, legal challenge by
way of Judicial Review (see AH1955 and subsequent paragraphs) may
be possible. A claim for Judicial Review must be made within three
months of the action or decision which is complained of. The
taxpayer should therefore be advised to take urgent legal advice if
s/he is considering applying for Judicial Review .
