Finance Act 1949

51 Settling of appeals, etc., by agreement

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where, whether before or after the passing of this Act, a person gives notice of appeal to the General Commissioners, the Special Commissioners or the Board of Referees against an assessment to, or a decision of any kind with respect to, income tax other than surtax, surtax, the profits tax, excess profits tax or the special contribution, and, before the appeal is determined by the Commissioners or Board, the surveyor or other proper officer of the Crown and the appellant come to an agreement, whether in writing or otherwise, that the assessment or decision should be treated as upheld without variation, or as varied in a particular manner or as discharged or cancelled, the like consequences shall ensue for all purposes as would have ensued if. at the time when the agreement was come to, the Commissioners or Board had determined the appeal and had upheld the assessment or decision without variation, had varied it in that manner or had discharged or cancelled it, as the case may be.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, where, whether before or after the passing of this Act, a person claims relief from excess profits tax for a deficiency of profits and, before the claim is determined by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, the surveyor or other proper officer of the Crown and the claimant come to an agreement, whether in writing or otherwise, that the claim should be allowed, or should be allowed with a variation, or should be disallowed, the like consequences shall ensue for all purposes as would have ensued if, at the time when the agreement was come to, the said Commissioners had allowed the claim, or had allowed it with that variation, or had disallowed it, as the case may be.

(3) The preceding provisions of this section shall not apply where, within twenty-one days from the date when the agreement was come to, the appellant or claimant gives notice in writing to the surveyor or other proper officer of the Crown that he desires to repudiate or resile from the agreement.

(4) The preceding provisions of this section shall, in relation to an agreement which is come to after the passing of this Act and is not in writing, have effect subject to the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) the said preceding provisions shall not apply unless the fact that an agreement was come to, and the terms agreed, are confirmed by notice in writing given by the surveyor or other proper officer of the Crown to the appellant or claimant, or by the appellant or claimant to the surveyor or other proper officer; and

(b) the references in the said preceding provisions to the time when the agreement was come to shall be construed as references to the time of the giving of the said notice of confirmation.

(5) Where, whether before or after the passing of this Act, a person who has given such a notice of appeal as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, or has made such a claim as is mentioned in subsection (2) thereof, notifies the surveyor or other proper officer of the Crown, whether orally or in writing, that he desires not to proceed with the appeal or, as the case may be, that he desires to withdraw the claim, and, in the case of a notification with respect to an appeal, twenty-one days have elapsed since the giving of the notification without the surveyor or other proper officer giving to the appellant notice in writing indicating that he is unwilling that the appeal should be treated as withdrawn, the preceding provisions of this section shall have effect as if, at the date of the appellant's or claimant's notification, the appellant or claimant and the surveyor or other proper officer had come to an agreement, orally or in writing, as the case may be, that the assessment or decision should be upheld without variation or that the claim should be disallowed.

(6) The references in this section to an agreement being come to with an appellant or claimant and the giving of notice or notification to or by an appellant or claimant include references to an agreement being come to with, and the giving of notice or notification to or by, a person acting on behalf of the appellant or claimant in relation to the appeal or claim.

(7) This section shall not apply in relation to any appeal or claim for relief which has in fact been duly determined before the sixth day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, by the Commissioners having jurisdiction in the matter or by the Board of Referees, as the case may be.