DANSP40100 | Notices of decision: Wording of decisions about National Insurance contributions due before 6 April 1975

Regulation 155A(4) of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (SSCR 2001) (SI 2001 No 1004)

DANSP24800 explains that appealable decisions can be issued which relate to the payment and time limits for payment of National Insurance contributions (NIC) before 6 April 1975.

Persons named in a decision

The decision should name the person who either wants to pay the NIC or has paid the NIC. No other person should be named in the decision.

Period covered by a decision

When you issue such a decision refer to the tax year(s) in which the NIC were either paid or were payable in.

The examples below apply the legal requirements and general principles for wording decisions in DANSP29200 and DANSP29300.

Example 1

Regulation 155A(4)(a) provides for a decision about whether the delay in paying NIC, by an employer, was neither with the consent or connivance of the insured person nor attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person.

My decision is that:

The delay in paying the contributions you were liable to pay as an employed person in the 1973 to 1974 contribution year, was not with your consent or connivance but was attributable to your negligence.

Example 2

Regulation 155A(4)(b) provides for a decision about whether in the case of NIC paid after the due date, the failure to pay before the due date was attributable to ignorance or error on the part of the insured person.

My decision is that:

The Class 2 contributions for the 1972 to 1973 contribution year were paid after the due date. This was attributable to your ignorance or error and that ignorance or error was due to your failure to exercise due care and diligence.

Example 3

Regulation 155A(4)(c) provides for a decision about whether the failure to pay non-employed contributions within prescribed time limits was attributable to ignorance or error on the part of the insured person.

My decision is that:

Your failure to pay contributions as a non-employed person for the 1965 to 1966 contribution year to the 1971 to 1972 contribution year within the prescribed period was attributable to your ignorance or error and that ignorance or error was due to your failure to exercise due care and diligence.

Commentary on examples

The decisions refer to contribution years rather than tax years. Contribution year did not have the same meaning before 6 April 1975 as it does today. The start and end dates of the contribution year depended upon the suffix letter at the end of a person’s National Insurance number.

In all the examples, the assumption is made that one or both of the conditions in either regulation 23, 24 or 32 of the National Insurance (Contributions) Regulations 1969 are not satisfied so that the contributions cannot be treated as paid by the due date.