COM71105 | Enquiries: CTSA enquiries: closing an enquiry: error in issuing a closure notice

If you make a mistake or omit something whilst issuing a closure notice in COTAX there is an accepted procedure to follow which having won several appeals is now established as case law. The principle of which can be applied to any statutory notice, including closure notices, and is as follows:

• before the output is physically produced (it’s still in the system to be printed) contact the customer so that they know what is being sent to them and that it is being issued in error

• back this contact up in writing, ensuring it explains the output message is not HMRC's intended view

• enter a suitable COTAX note

Once this process has been completed you can undertake the required corrective action to re-calculate the closure notice. You will need to issue this manually as you cannot re-issue the notice in COTAX. The correct charge will need to be recorded in function RAMA (Record/Amend Assessment) but you must suppress the output.