Inspectors of Taxes represent PSO before the General Commissioners and it is therefore vital that we supply them with all the relevant information in our possession if they are to accept each case and represent us effectively in an area of work that they will be largely unfamiliar with. The following guidance should enable you to complete the PS 80. However, if you are in any doubt consult your Section penalty specialist. Note that a separate form is required for each breach of the Regulations. For example, late notification of borrowing received in connection with a property transaction also notified late would count as two breaches, with a penalty being sought for each.
| Which tax district? | The PS 80 should be issued to the tax district that covers the business address of the administrator. It is not necessary to quote the district reference on this form. |
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| If the employer is the administrator (see below), issue the form to district covering the business address of the employer. |
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| If the practitioner is the administrator, issue the form to the district covering the business address of the practitioner. |
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| If the trustees are the administrator and also directors in the employer company, issue the form to the district covering the business address of the employer. |
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| You can make use of the District and street lists (available in every Section library and also on Tintax) and the tracing facility via PSCU. If you are given a choice of more than one district telephone one of them to confirm which one is correct. |
| Which General Commissioners? | The venue for the General Commissioners hearing will be decided by the Inspector, so leave these spaces blank. We are obliged to be as accommodating as possible for the person being summonsed to a hearing and that person has the right to elect for an alternative venue. |
| Who is the scheme administrator? | The information on the
approval application form may not be very reliable as some
practitioners may attach a different meaning to the term
administrator. (It is common for practitioners who carry out the
day to day administration of a scheme to refer to themselves as the
administrator but in fact they are often not the
legal administrator. They sometimes are, but it is
far more common for either the "principal employer" or "the
trustees" to be the
legal administrator.) You should therefore first
check the scheme documentation to verify the name and address of
the administrator. If the administrator is not identified in recent
documentation you must telephone the practitioner to confirm that
the person(s) named on the approval application form is in fact the
legal administrator or to provide the correct
name(s) and address(es).
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Complete boxes 1-4 with the most up to date information on
the file. Make sure you enter the complete scheme name.
| Reason for non-compliance | Though this will be obvious to you it will not be so obvious to the Inspector or the Commissioners. You should quote the relevant Regulation then give a plain English description of the breach. Do not simply say "late receipt of PS 7012", for instance, as this will mean very little to anyone outside PSO. It is better to say "notification of property purchase by scheme not notified to PSO within 90 days of transaction as required by Information Powers Regulations". |
| Reason for delay | If a reason has been given copy it into the field provided, over-writing the default text, and refer the Inspector to the relevant correspondence. If no reason has been given despite the issue of form PS 7007, simply leave the default text in this box, but add the date of issue of the PS 7007, i.e. "No reason given despite written request date ………". |
| Why reason is unacceptable to PSO | The Commissioners may be reluctant to impose a penalty for breaches of Regulations under Part II as the information is not outstanding (we will not normally know that there has been a breach until we receive the late report), but it is vital if we are to achieve a behavioural change that we persuade them to. Where an excuse has been given for the delay the Commissioners are bound to ask the Inspector why we do not think it is acceptable so we must provide an answer. It has long been established at Commissioners' hearings that only very exceptional circumstances would be accepted and such things as ignorance of the law or administrative mix-ups are no excuse. |
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| Where possible, you should counter any explanation given for the delay. For instance, if the reason given for the late submission of a report of a loan to the principal employer is that the administrator needed more time to get all the trustees to sign the loan agreement, you should point out that the loan should not have been made at all before the loan agreement had been signed by all the trustees. |
| Other relevant information | You should use this last box to tell the Inspector anything you may think would be useful in persuading the Commissioners to impose a penalty. Give details of any previous breaches of the SSAS Regulations (which should be recorded on form PS 7027) and the Information Powers Regulations, or any other event that would indicate inadequate administration. |
