COM41001 - Case records: case responsibility: introduction

Only one CT processing office and one Debt Management office have responsibility for a COTAX case at any one time. The COTAX system associates post codes with specific offices, but the record can be held by any office.

Under the Self Assessment enquiry regime, there must be only one office responsible for the case. Therefore Specialist Investigations (SI) take over full case responsibility for some CTSA enquiries. This includes the transfer of all papers and computer records.

Debt Management offices must not transfer periods of responsibility because IDMS only recognises one Debt Management office (including the EIS (Enforcement & Insolvency Service) office) as being responsible for all unpaid liabilities for a Head of Duty for a particular company.

The responsible CT processing office is often the office in whose area the company’s Registered Office is situated. If the company is not of a type to have a registered office, the office in whose area the company’s principle place of business is situated usually has responsibility for the case. If the company does not have any premises, for example, a members’ club, the responsible office is the office in whose area the club’s secretary or treasurer can be contacted. Charities and their wholly owned subsidiary companies are dealt with by HMRC Charities, Assets and Residence (CAR). If you come across a case in a local office and are unsure whether it should be transferred to CAR, send a memo to

• CAR Bootle (292200) (Room 40) for cases registered in England and Wales or Northern Ireland

• CAR Edinburgh (297800) for cases registered in Scotland

Give them details of why you think they may need to take responsibility for the case. CAR will advise you what to do next.

A Debt Management office is allocated when an AP is passed for local action. COTAX identifies the responsible DMB office as follows

• If there is an responsible Debt Management office already shown in Function VTPR (View Taxpayer), it will use that office
• If no responsible office is currently shown, it will identify the Debt Management office associated with the postcode of the company address
• If the company address does not have a postcode it will use the Debt Management office associated with the responsible CT processing office

Where, exceptionally, COTAX cannot determine the responsible Debt Management office, an LA notice is printed in Banking Operations. This includes cases where Banking Operations has been set up as the responsible Debt Management office for certain LBS offices. The Banking Operations nominated officer should follow the Action Guide ‘Transferring A Case To Another Debt Management Office’ in this section.

Information for Debt Management offices relating to transferring a case to the EIS (Enforcement & Insolvency Service) office is in section 'Transfers to EIS (Enforcement & Insolvency Service) Office’ of the ‘Pursuit’ business area.

Non-resident companies that are not trading through a permanent establishment or agency in the UK but wish to carry out construction work in the UK must apply to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

A COTAX record used to be needed to set up a record on the CIS IT system, but that is no longer the case. If one of these companies contacts you, do not set up a COTAX record. Ask them to contact HMRC Residency on telephone number 0845 0700 0040, or if calling from abroad +44 151 210 2222.

You should transfer any cases which you come across in your local office in day to day work to the CIS (NR) team in CAR Residency using MUID 290400. (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)