EP6600 - Underpayments/Overpayments: Revenue delay: Overview
Underpayments of less than £50 per year fall within the
tolerance described in TS49/01and need not be considered for ESC
A19 treatment.
- Where there is a lengthy delay by the Revenue in notifying someone that he or she owes additional income tax, capital gains tax or Class 4 NIC we may be able to give up the arrears under extra-statutory concession A19 (ESC A19), as long as all the conditions set out in the concession are met.
- Throughout these instructions the word "taxpayer" (rather than "customer") is used to accord with the wording in the concession itself. The full text of the concession is at EP6601.
- The concession is still occasionally referred to as "official error". The correct term for ESC A19 is "Giving up tax where there are Revenue delays in using information". The term "official error" is commonly used in the context of NICs (apart from Class 4 NICs) and tax credits, which do not come within ESC A19 and are not covered by these instructions.
- It applies to underpayments and over-repayments. Both are described as "arrears" in the concession itself, so that word is used throughout this guidance. Potential underpayments for the current year that have been notified to the taxpayer cannot be classed as "arrears" and must not be given up.
- An explanation should be sent to the taxpayer whenever we notify arrears of tax for the first time. If it is not possible to fit a clear and complete explanation on the calculation, a separate letter should be sent.
- SA cases. Because of the strict statutory time limits surrounding SA returns, and the greater responsibility placed on the taxpayer, ESC A19 will not normally apply in SA cases. The general principles in the following paragraphs apply equally whenever the concession is considered. Further guidance specific to SA can be found in the SA Manual.
(The text at this point has been withheld under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information)
