CCM12113 - Opening and Working Enquiries: Enquiry Notice returned RLS - Considering the Current Year

It is impossible to provide guidance for every scenario you might encounter but the following are some examples of the action you might take if you have an enquiry where correspondence is returned RLS and you cannot continue with the enquiry but you need to consider whether to amend the current year:

• The child care provider said the children were never in their care or left after a few weeks in the PY. Although the claimant might still be paying allowable child care costs, the S17 declaration is incorrect and so we have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect.

Action: The award should be amended to exclude the child care costs.

• The 2004/2005 P14 details do not match the claim. Although there could be an explanation (for example pension contributions) we have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect.

Action: The award should be amended to reflect the income for 2004/ 2005 shown on the P14.

• The earnings are below the National Minimum Wage. Although there could be an explanation we have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect.

Action: The award should be amended to either withdraw the '30 hours' element or to withdraw the entire WTC if the claimant could be working less than 16 hours per week.

• The case was selected for enquiry as a suspected Living Together as Husband and Wife (LTAHAW). The SIP merely provides evidence that two people live at the same address. It does not prove they are living together as husband and wife. Although the award might be incorrect you do not have reasonable grounds to revise the award. In almost all RLS cases this will mean that without a new address you can take no further action. An exception would be where there has previously been an admission to HMRC by the claimant or the suspected partner that they are living together. This might have come about because of information provided in connection with another tax credit claim or during an SA enquiry. In these cases you have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect and the claim can be terminated.

Action: In these cases we have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect and the claim can be terminated.