CCM11430 - End of Year Issues: Formal information notice - information not provided - making S18 decision

If you have issued a formal S18(10) information notice, you can take penalty action if appropriate. If you have issued formal information notices under both S15(2) / S16(3) and then following the response to the S17 notice you issued a formal information notice under S18(10), you should normally only take penalty action in respect of one of the notices, which should normally be the S18(10) notice (see CCM Chapter 10 for guidance). However, wherever possible you should try to make a S18 decision.

Where the claimant(s) does not provide the information by the date specified in the notice, you should normally make the S18 decision on the basis of the information you have been able to obtain. If some points are not clear, you should make the decision based on your best judgement. If you have been unable to obtain a figure of income from the claimant(s) you should use the actual figure from the appropriate HMRC database (e.g. SA, COP), if one is available. If no such figure exits, you should use your best estimate.

If your examination relates to the claimant's circumstances and they do not provide the information you require, you will again have to use your best judgement in making any decision. This might be to conclude, based on the information you hold so far, that they began living with a partner on a particular date or that their child care costs ceased/changed from a particular date.