Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

152 Notification of amount taxable under section 151

(1) A benefit officer may by notice notify a person who is taxable in respect of any unemployment benefit or income support of the amount on which he is taxable and any such notification shall state the date on which it is issued and shall inform the person to whom it is given that he may object to the notification by notice given within 60 days after the date of issue of the notification.

(2) Where—

(a) no objection is made to a notification of an amount under subsection (1) above within the period specified in that subsection (or such further period as may be allowed by virtue of subsection (5) below); or

(b) an objection is made but is withdrawn by the objector by notice,

that amount shall not be questioned in any appeal against any assessment in respect of income including that amount.

(3) Where—

(a) an objection is made to a notification of an amount under subsection (1) above within the period specified in that subsection (or such further period as may be allowed by virtue of subsection (5) below), and

(b) the benefit officer and the objector come to an agreement that the amount notified should be varied in a particular manner, and

(c) the officer confirms the agreement to vary in writing,

then, subject to subsection (4) below, that amount as so varied shall not be questioned in any appeal against any assessment in respect of income including that amount.

(4) Subsection (3) above shall not apply if, within 60 days from the date when the agreement was come to, the objector gives notice to the benefit officer that he wishes to repudiate or resile from the agreement.

(5) An objection to a notification may be made later than 60 days after the date of the issue of the notification if, on an application for the purpose—

(a) a benefit officer is satisfied that there was a reasonable excuse for not objecting within that time, and

(b) the objection was made thereafter without unreasonable delay, and

(c) the officer gives consent in writing;

and if the officer is not so satisfied he shall refer the application for determination—

(i) by the General Commissioners for the division in which the objector ordinarily resides or,

(ii) in a case where an appeal has been made against an assessment in respect of income including the amount in question, the General Commissioners or the Special Commissioners having jurisdiction in that appeal.

(6) Where a benefit officer has notified an amount to a person under subsection (1) above, he may by another notice notify the person of an alteration in the amount previously notified and, if he does so, the original notification shall be cancelled and this section shall apply to such a subsequent notification as it applies to the original notification.

(7) In this section “benefit officer” means the appropriate officer, in Great Britain, of the Department of Employment or of the Department of Health and Social Security, as the case may be, or, in Northern Ireland, of the Department of Health and Social Services.