CCM4850 - Examinations: Post-award penalty cases: Claimant does not respond to opening letter
If the claimant does not respond to your opening letter by the date specified, you should:
- check to see if the information has been received in your office, but not yet passed to you
- consider whether there may be any exceptional circumstances preventing the claimant from replying, for example a postal dispute.
Where appropriate you should contact the claimant(s) by phone to
remind them of the need to deal with your query. If you think there
is a problem you can allow a further week or exceptionally more
than this with your manager’s agreement.
If the opening letter has been returned RLS or you know the
address is false – see
CCM5287.
In all other cases if you are satisfied the claimant(s) has
been given every opportunity to supply the information you will
have 3 options:-
- take no further action
- make a formal request for the information
- amend the award
Section 16 only allows you to amend an award where you have reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect. A failure to reply to your opening letter is not, in itself, ‘reasonable grounds’. You must consider the risk and the evidence held. Where the risk is an Undisclosed Partner – see CCM15370. and then if appropriate – see (c) below. In other risks your options are then:-
- Take no further action – where the evidence held is not
enough to support revising the award and you do not consider it
appropriate to issue a formal request for the information you will
close your examination as shown in
CCM4425.
- Formal request for information - where there is not enough
evidence to support the revising award but you and your manager do
not believe this should lead to no further action you will need to
make a formal request for the information. Where you need to follow
this route – see
CCM5090.
- Amend the award – where the evidence is strong enough to
support revising the award continue as shown below.
To revise the award you should use the standard letter template
TCC61. The letter tells the claimant that you will be revising
their award and they will soon receive a formal notification of
their revised award. It also explains what will happen about
recovering any overpaid tax credits and tells them we will be
charging a penalty.
In joint claims remember to send a copy of the letter to
each claimant.
If the claimant has authorised an agent to act for them
remember to send a copy of the letter to the agent.
Once you have issued the letter you must amend the award,
see CCOM20465. The system will send out a new award notice. The
claimant then has 30 days to appeal against your decision so BF
your papers for 40 days.
During the appeal period obtain a copy of the incorrect claim or statement as this will be needed if formal proceedings are necessary. Where the claim, statement or declaration was made by telephone, obtain a copy of the call transcript.
