The Tax Credits (Appeals) (No. 2) Regulations 2002
PART 1GENERAL
Citation, commencement, duration and interpretation1.
(1)
These Regulations may be cited as the Tax Credits (Appeals) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on 1st January 2003.
(2)
(3)
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the Social Security Act 1998;
“the 2002 Act” means the Tax Credits Act 2002;
“appeal” means an appeal under section 38 of the 2002 Act;
“an application for a direction” means an application for a direction to close down an enquiry made under section 19(9) of the 2002 Act;
F1...
F2...
F3 “couple” means—
- (a)
two people who are married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household; or
- (b)
two people who are not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners;
“court” means the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Court of Session, the High Court or Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland, the House of Lords or the Court of Justice of the European Community;
F4...
F5...
F6...
“joint claim” means a claim made under section 3(3)(a) of the 2002 Act and any reference in these Regulations to “joint claimant” shall be construed accordingly;
F7...
F8...
F9...
F10...
F11...
“party to the proceedings” means the Board and any other person—
(a)
who is an appellant in an appeal brought against a decision or determination set out in section 38 of the 2002 Act;
(b)
who is an applicant for a direction to close down an enquiry under section 19(9) of the 2002 Act;
(c)
who is a defendant (or defender) in penalty proceedings brought under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the 2002 Act;
(d)
who is a person with a right of appeal or a right to make an application for a direction under regulation 3;
F14...
F15...
F16...
“single claim” means a claim made under section 3(3)(b) of the 2002 Act;
“tax credit” means child tax credit or working tax credit, construing those terms in accordance with section 1(1) and (2) of the 2002 Act, and any reference in these Regulations to “child tax credit” or “working tax credit” shall be construed accordingly.
Service of notices or documents2.
Where, by any provision of these Regulations—
(a)
(b)
any notice or other document is required to be given or sent to any person other than F19... the Board, that notice or document shall, if sent to that person’s last known address, be treated as having been given or sent on the day that it was posted.
PART 2GENERAL APPEAL MATTERS
Other persons with a right of appeal or a right to make an application for a direction3.
(a)
a person has made a claim for a tax credit but is unable for the time being to make an appeal against a decision in respect of that tax credit; or
(b)
a person is the person in respect of whom an enquiry has been initiated under section 19(1) of the 2002 Act, but is unable for the time being to make an application for a direction,
the following other persons have a right of appeal to F20the First-tier Tribunal or a right to make an application for a direction—
(i)
a receiver appointed by the Court of Protection with power to make a claim for a tax credit on behalf of the person;
(ii)
in Scotland, a F21judicial factor, or guardian acting or appointed under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 who has power to claim, or as the case may be, receive a tax credit on his behalf who is administering the estate of the person;
(iii)
(iv)
where there is no person mentioned in sub-paragraph (iii) in relation to the person who is unable to act, a person who has applied in writing to the Board to be appointed to act on behalf of the person who is unable to act and, if a natural person, is aged 18 years or more and who has been so appointed by the Board for the purposes of this sub-paragraph.
Time within which an appeal is to be brought4.
(1)
Where a dispute arises as to whether an appeal was brought within the time limit specified in section 39(1) of the 2002 Act, the dispute shall be referred to, and be determined by, F22the First-tier Tribunal.
(2)
The time limit specified in section 39(1) of the 2002 Act may be extended in accordance with regulation 5.
Late appeals5.
(1)
F25(2)
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F25(3)
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F26(4)
An appeal may be treated as made in time if the Board is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice.
(5)
For the purposes of paragraph (4) it is not in the interests of justice to F27treat the appeal as made in time unless the Board are satisfied that—
(a)
the special circumstances specified in paragraph (6) are relevant F28...; or
(b)
some other special circumstances exist which are wholly exceptional and relevant F28...,
and as a result of those special circumstances, it was not practicable for the appeal to be made within the time limit specified in section 39(1) of the 2002 Act.
(6)
For the purposes of paragraph (5)(a), the special circumstances are that—
(a)
(b)
the F29appellant is not resident in the United Kingdom; or
(c)
normal postal services were disrupted.
(7)
In determining whether it is in the interests of justice to F30treat the appeal as made in time, regard shall be had to the principle that the greater the amount of time that has elapsed between the expiration of the time within which the appeal is to be brought under section 39(1) of the 2002 Act and the F31submission of the notice of appeal, the more compelling should be the special circumstances.
(8)
In determining whether it is in the interests of justice to F32treat the appeal as made in time, no account shall be taken of the following—
(a)
that the applicant or any person acting for him was unaware of or misunderstood the law applicable to his case (including ignorance or misunderstanding of the time limit imposed by section 39(1) of the 2002 Act); or
(b)
that F33the Upper Tribunal or a court has taken a different view of the law from that previously understood and applied.
F34(9)
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F34(10)
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F34(11)
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Making of an application for an extension of timeF356.
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Making an application for a directionF367.
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Death of a party to an appeal or an application for a direction8.
(1)
In any proceedings relating to an appeal or an application for a direction, on the death of a party to those proceedings (other than the Board) the following persons may proceed with the appeal or application for a direction in the place of such deceased party—
(a)
where the proceedings are in relation to a single claim, the personal representatives of the person who has died;
(b)
where the proceedings are in relation to a joint claim, where only one of the persons by whom the claim was made has died, the other person with whom the claim was made;
(c)
where the proceedings are in relation to a joint claim where both the persons by whom the claim was made have died, the personal representatives of the last of them to die;
(d)
for the purposes of paragraph (c), where persons have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them survived the other—
(i)
their deaths shall be presumed to have occurred in order of seniority; and
(ii)
the younger shall be treated as having survived the elder.
(2)
Where there is no person mentioned in paragraphs (1)(a) to (1)(c) to proceed with the appeal or application for a direction, the Board may appoint such person as they think fit to proceed with that appeal or that application in the place of such deceased party referred to in paragraph (1).
(3)
A grant of probate, confirmation or letters of administration to the estate of the deceased party, whenever taken out, shall have no effect on an appointment made under paragraph (2).
(4)
Where a person appointed under paragraph (2) has, prior to the date of such appointment, taken any action in relation to the appeal or application for a direction on behalf of the deceased party, the effective date of appointment by the Board shall be the day immediately prior to the first day on which such action was taken.
PART 3APPEAL TRIBUNALS FOR TAX CREDITS
CHAPTER 1APPEAL TRIBUNALS
Composition of appeal tribunalsF379.
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Assignment of clerks to appeal tribunals: function of clerksF3710.
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CHAPTER 2PROCEDURE IN CONNECTION WITH DETERMINATION OF APPEALS, APPLICATIONS FOR DIRECTIONS AND PENALTY PROCEEDINGS
Consideration and determination of appeals, applications for a direction and penalty proceedingsF3711.
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Choice of hearingF3712.
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Withdrawal of application for a direction or penalty proceedingsF3713.
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Non-disclosure of medical advice or evidenceF3714.
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Summoning of witnesses and administration of oathsF3715.
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CHAPTER 3STRIKING OUT APPEALS AND APPLICATIONS FOR A DIRECTION
Cases which may be struck outF3716.
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Reinstatement of struck out casesF3717.
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CHAPTER 4ORAL HEARINGS
Procedure at oral hearingsF3718.
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Manner of providing expert assistanceF3719.
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Postponement and adjournmentF3720.
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CHAPTER 5DECISIONS OF APPEAL TRIBUNALS AND RELATED MATTERS
Decisions of appeal tribunalsF3721.
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Late applications for a statement of reasons of tribunal decisionF3722.
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Record of tribunal proceedingsF3723.
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Correction of accidental errorsF3724.
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Setting aside decisions on certain groundsF3725.
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Provisions common to regulations 24 and 25F3726.
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Service of decision notice by electronic mailF3726A.
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Application for leave to appeal to a Commissioner from a decision of an appeal tribunalF3727.
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Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
These Regulations are made in consequence of the application and modification of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Social Security Act 1998 (c. 14) by the Tax Credits (Appeals) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2926) which are made under section 63(8) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21) (“the 2002 Act”) for the purposes of the temporary modifications made by section 63 of the 2002 Act. Those modifications have the effect of sending appeals against the decisions set out in section 38 of the 2002 Act, directions to close down an enquiry made under section 19(10) of the 2002 Act and penalty proceedings brought under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the 2002 Act (“penalty proceedings”), to an appeal tribunal, until a day is appointed under section 63(1) of the 2002 Act.
Part 1 of these Regulations contains provisions relating to commencement, citation and interpretation and service of notices or documents.
Part 2 of the Regulations concerns rights of appeal and the procedure for bringing appeals. Regulation 3 makes provision for additional persons to have a right of appeal, or to make an application for a direction to close down an enquiry under section 19(9) of the 2002 Act (“application for a direction”) (other than those provided for in the 2002 Act). Regulation 4 sets out the procedure for dealing with a dispute in relation to time limits. Regulation 5 deals with late appeals. Regulation 6 provides for the manner in which an application for an extension of time must be made. Regulation 7 provides for the manner in which an application for a direction must be made. Regulation 8 sets out who may proceed with an appeal or an application for a direction when a party to an appeal dies.
Part 3 makes provision for appeal tribunals for tax credits. Chapter 1 provides for the requirements relating to the composition of appeal tribunals and the assignment of clerks to tribunals. Chapters 2 to 5 of Part 3 provide for further matters relating to appeals, applications for a direction and penalty proceedings. Chapter 2 makes provision for the procedural requirements in the determination of appeals, applications for a direction and penalty proceedings, including withdrawal of applications for a direction and penalty proceedings, non-disclosure of medical advice or evidence and the summoning of witnesses. Chapter 3 provides for the striking out of certain appeals and applications for a direction and the related procedure for reinstatement. Chapter 4 provides for the procedure at oral hearings and Chapter 5 makes provision relating to the decisions of appeal tribunals, the reasons for those decisions and applications for leave to appeal to a Social Security Commissioner.
These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.