CHILD TRUST FUNDS Citation, commencement, duration and interpretation 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Child Trust Funds (Appeals) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on the day after they are made. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires— “ the Act ” means the Social Security Act 1998; “the 2004 Act ” means the Child Trust Funds Act 2004; “appeal” means an appeal under section 22 of the 2004 Act to the First-tier Tribunal ; “ the Board ” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; ... ... ... ... “notification period” has the meaning given in regulation 3; “party to the proceedings” means the Board and any person who brings an appeal; ... 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Service of notices or documents 2 Where by any provision of these Regulations— a any notice or other document is required to be given or sent to ...the Board, that notice or document shall be treated as having been so given or sent on the day that it is received by ... the Board, and b any notice or other document is required to be given or sent to any person other than ...the Board, that notice or document shall, if sent to that person’s last known address, be treated as having been given or sent on the day that it was posted. Disputes about notices of appeal 3 Where a dispute arises as to whether notice of an appeal was given to the Board within the period of thirty days specified in section 23(1) of the 2004 Act (“the notification period”) the dispute shall be referred to, and be determined by, the First-tier Tribunal . Late appeals 4 1 Where the conditions specified in paragraphs (4) to (8) are satisfied, the Board may treat an appeal as made in time where an appeal is brought within a period of one year after the expiration of the notification period. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Board must not treat the appeal as made in time unless the Board is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice. 5 For the purposes of paragraph (4) it is not in the interests of justice to treat the appeal as made in time unless the Board are satisfied that— a the special circumstances specified in paragraph (6) are relevant ...; or b some other special circumstances exist which are wholly exceptional and relevant ..., and as a result of those special circumstances, it was not practicable for the appeal to be brought within the notification period. 6 For the purposes of paragraph (5)(a), the special circumstances are that— a the appellant or a partner or dependant of the appellant has died or suffered serious illness; b the appellant is not resident in the United Kingdom; or c normal postal services were disrupted. 7 In determining whether it is in the interests of justice to treat the appeal as made in time , regard shall be had to the principle that the greater the amount of time that has elapsed between the expiration of the notification period and the submission of the notice of appeal, the more compelling should be the special circumstances. 8 In determining whether it is in the interests of justice to treat the appeal as made in time , no account shall be taken of the following— a that the appellant or any person acting for him was unaware of or misunderstood the law applicable to his case (including ignorance or misunderstanding of the notification period); or b that the Upper Tribunal or a court has taken a different view of the law from that previously understood and applied. 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 As soon as practicable after the decision is made a copy of the decision shall be sent or given to every party to the proceedings. Death of a party to an appeal 5 In any proceedings relating to an appeal under section 22(2), (4), (5) or (6) of the 2004 Act, on the death of a party to the proceedings (other than the Board) the personal representative of the person who has died may represent him at any hearing. Composition of appeal tribunals 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clerk to an appeal tribunal 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Consideration and determination of appeals 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choice of hearing 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Withdrawal of appeal 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summoning of witnesses and administration of oaths 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Confidentiality in appeals 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appeals which may be struck out 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reinstatement of struck out appeals 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Procedure at oral hearings 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manner of providing expert assistance 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Postponement and adjournment 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Decisions of appeal tribunals 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Late applications for statements of reasons of tribunal decisions 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Record of tribunal proceedings 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correction of accidental errors 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting aside decisions on certain grounds 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Provisions common to regulations 21 and 22 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Service of decision notice by electronic mail 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Application for leave to appeal to a Commissioner from an appeal tribunal 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. P.Hollis Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions 24th March 2005