Clause 19.—(TIME LIMITS.) (Hansard, 18 June 1958)

§ Mr. Houghton

This is, I think, the shortest Clause in the Bill. Its rubric, which reads "Time limits," would seem to contain an appropriate suggestion. I rise only to ask a couple of questions.

The provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Bill carry out the very sensible recommendation of the Royal Commission to rationalise the time limits for appeals, claims for relief and elections which, for a basis of assessment, are provided in the Income Tax Act. There is no doubt that it will be a great help to taxpayers, and especially to those who advise them, to have far fewer time limits to carry in their minds than has previously been the case when different time limits have been brought in with different provisions at different times.

On the face of it, one might think that the time limit given for some claims is rather long. For instance, one would not normally expect that it was necessary to provide a six-year limit for a claim for a void relief, yet I read in a professional magazine that practitioners will welcome it, for frequently they only hear that a property has been unoccupied long after the time. The time limit of six years will be a welcome change.

I wish to ask about two things. First of all, the time limits for appeals against assessments for Surtax, which, I presume, are not covered by the Clause because they were dealt with in Statutory Rules and Orders, 1928, No. 610, paragraph 5, which provide a limit of 28 days for appealing against assessments for Surtax. 1275 I presume that steps will be taken to bring appeals against Surtax assessments into line with the new arrangements for Income Tax.

Then, of course, there is the vast field of assessments made under Pay-As-You-Earn which again fall not to be dealt with in the Sixth Schedule because they were covered by paragraph 51 of the Income Tax (Amendment) Regulations, 1950. I hope that the Financial Secretary will be able to assure the Committee that these two important sets of appeals will be provided for by whatever is the appropriate machinery.

I am sure that the Committee will welcome the new provision and that it will be a safeguard against forgetfulness or ignorance of the right to claim or to elect. It is a change which I think the Royal Commission did well to recommend, although it has, perhaps, taken rather long for the Chancellor to find room for it in the Finance Bill.

§ Mr. Simon

As the hon. Member remarked, the provisions in the Schedule implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission. It effects a rationalisation, a tidying up of the law, which I think has been welcomed very generally, and it operates in every case where there has been an alteration in favour of the taxpayer.

The hon. Member asked about the 28 days time limit covering appeals against Surtax assessment which is contained in the 1928 Regulations at the moment. This will be amended in due course, but the present intention is to wait until the Regulations require amendment in other respects. It did not altogether fit within this particular exercise. The Regulations permit the Special Commissioners to grant further time, and I am able to say that in future they will invariably accept notices of appeal made within 30 days, as I think the hon. Member will bear me out, has been almost invariably the case in the past.