Taxes Management Act 1970 section 31A

Appeals: notice of appeal

Section 31A sets out the procedural requirements for giving notice of appeal against various types of tax decisions, including the time limits, the format, and the officer to whom the appeal must be directed.

• A notice of appeal must be made in writing, specify the grounds of appeal, and be sent to the relevant HMRC officer within 30 days of the specified date.
• For appeals against amendments to self-assessment or partnership returns, or against closure notices, the 30-day deadline runs from the date the relevant notice was issued, and the appeal is directed to the officer who issued that notice.
• For appeals against assessments (other than simple assessments), the 30-day deadline runs from the date the notice of assessment was issued, and the appeal is directed to the officer who issued it.
• For appeals against simple assessments, the 30-day deadline does not start from the assessment date itself but from the date HMRC gives the taxpayer its final response to the mandatory query the taxpayer must raise before appealing.