Personal Acting Body, Appointee Or Power Of Attorney (Info)


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A tax credits claimant may request a personal acting body if they find it difficult to manage their own affairs. This could arise where the claimant

  • Has learning difficulties and cannot understand or complete forms
     
  • Has a physical disability which means that they cannot easily manage money or complete forms. For example, where the claimant is blind, has a severe arthritic condition or limb amputations

Or

  • A claimant may have died

For tax credits purposes the following personal acting bodies can be accepted

And

  • Court approved. This is a person who has been granted authority to act on behalf of another. The following are court appointments and override appointments made by the Board of HM Revenue and Customs or the Secretary of State
  • Enduring Power of Attorney. From October 2007 these are now known as Lasting Power of Attorney
     
  • Tutor. Appointed by a court in Scotland
     
  • Guardian. Appointed by a court in Scotland
     
  • Curator Bonis. Appointed by a court in Scotland
     
  • Controller. Appointed by the Office of Care and Protection in Northern Ireland
     
  • Receiver. From October 2007 these are now known as Court Appointed Deputies. They are appointed by the Court of Protection in England and Wales

You may become aware that the claimant has or requests a personal acting body

  • From the ‘Incomplete Applications’ Work List, if the claim was processed through Rapid Data Capture (RDC)

Note: From April 2004 this will also include Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) / Department for Social Development ( DSD) portal claims

  • When manually capturing the claim form and the appointee details box is completed
     
  • When a change of circumstance has been received, for example the death of a claimant or the person being the personal acting body has changed
     
  • From enquiries by letter, face to face or telephone from people asking how to become a personal acting body

Changes reported to a Contact Centre will be passed to the Tax Credit Office (TCO) through a work area mailbox (WAM) and will include the details they have obtained. The Contact Centre will have checked

  • That the appointee is authorised by DWP / DSD
     
  • Which Benefit Office authorised the appointment. For example, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Incapacity Benefit (IB)

They will also

  • Confirm that the appointment is still applicable and that
     
  • Benefit is still in payment

And

  • Send you the details

You need to establish whether the person who is requesting to be the personal acting body on the claim form

  • Is already an appointee for DWP or DSD purposes

Or

  • Has already been granted Power of Attorney

Information from an agent is acceptable, but the agent will not be considered as a personal acting body for tax credits purposes.

Where a Contact Centre receives a request to end an appointment, they will gather the relevant information and pass it on to you. At the time of the request, the Contact Centre will refer the appointee to the notes contained on the form BF57 informing them that they need to provide one month’s notice, in writing. The Contact Centre will then refer the details of the appointee’s request to you.

If, at the same time, they have been informed of another person wishing to take over the appointment, they will still ask the appointee to send written notice of the intention to end the appointment but they will also record details of the person wishing to become the appointee. They will send these details to you at the same time.

Note: Where a case has been finalised for a previous year's tax credits award and a correction or removal of the Appointee is required, do not apply the changes to the previous year's award. Apply the change to the current year's award

For example - the appointee needs to be removed from a tax credits claim. There are two versions 2004-2005 Finalised Award and 2005-2006 Award Issued. Apply the change to the 2005-2006 claim and remove the Appointee details from this award

The previous year's award should not be corrected as this may jeopardise any Compliance activity that may be necessary

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