DMBM209145 - Irregular Payments: Payments with conditions attached
Overview
Sometimes we receive a payment accompanied by a letter that attaches certain conditions to the acceptance of the payment. The general aim of the customer is to gain an advantage from the acceptance of the payment by
- preventing us from taking any further action
or
- obtaining agreement from us to a normally unacceptable proposal.
The more common types of conditions are where the payment
- is less than the amount due and the customer states
- that it is in full and final settlement
and
- that banking the payment is acceptance of the conditions.
- clears the tax on the condition that interest is not charged
- is from a conscientious objector who says their tax payment must not be used to fund, for example, military expenditure.
Action to take on receipt of a payment with conditions attached
Where we receive such a payment we can bank it and safely ignore the conditions attached provided the office with collection responsibility writes to the customer immediately to advise them that
- the payment has been accepted ‘without prejudice’
and
- the conditions attached to the payment are formally rejected.
Where the payment is from a conscientious objector, and the customer continues to challenge our response you should write to them including the following wording
- “The obligation to pay taxes is a general one. Tax receipts go into a general pool - the Consolidated Fund - and no part of an individual’s taxes can be identified as funding any particular item of expenditure.”
County Court Proceedings (CCP) Cases
For guidance on the acceptance of payments with conditions attached in CCP cases, see DMBM665680.
Interest Objections
For guidance on how to handle an interest objection, see DMBM405060.
