COM110052 - Pursuit: automatic and clerical pursuit: selection for debt management office pursuit (Action Guide)
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-27)


To select an AP for clerical pursuit at the Debt Management Office, consider steps 1 - 16 below. The guide is presented as follows

Steps 1 – 4 COTAX selected case for Debt Management Office referred to HMRC Payments (#cotax-selected)

Steps 5 – 9 Selection by HMRC Payments (#selection-by-banking-operations)

Steps 10 – 12 Receipt of case made PLA at the Debt Management Office (#receipt-of-case)

Steps 13 – 16 Selection by the Debt Management Office (#selection-by-dmb)

COTAX selected case for Debt Management Office referred to HMRC Payments

1. If you receive a printed local action notice (LAN) for a case where COTAX cannot find the responsible Debt Management Office.

Use function VTPR (View Taxpayer) to identify any addresses held on the record. You should associate the Debt Management Office to the address held on the company record in the following order:
- communication address
- company address (Registered Office)
- agent address
- If you are unable to identify the Debt Management Office through the address then it should be the Debt Management Office associated with the responsible processing office
2. Use function TRCA (Transfer Case) to transfer case responsibility to the correct Debt Management Office.

3. Telephone the Debt Management Office to advise them that you have transferred the case to them and that they need to set up a clerical work item in IDMS.

4. Forward the paper LAN to the Debt Management Office.

Top of page (#Top)

Selection by HMRC Payments

5. Use function VTPR (View Taxpayer) to confirm which Debt Management Office is responsible for the Accounting Period (AP).

6. Use function RAPP (Revise AP Pursuit) to make the case LA.

7. Then use function RTPP (Revise Taxpayer Pursuit) to make the case PLA.

8. Use function NOTE to record why you have made the case LA.

9. Refer any papers to the Debt Management Office, including any significant correspondence.

Top of page (#Top)

Receipt of case made PLA at the Debt Management Office

10. Use function VTPR (View Taxpayer Record), Company Details screen and check if the company has been struck-off / ceased.

11. Use function RTPP (Revise Taxpayer Pursuit) to cancel the PLA signal.

12. Pursue the debt clerically in the Debt Management Office.

Top of page (#Top)

Selection by the Debt Management Office

13. Use function VTPR (View Taxpayer) (VIEW OFFICE DETAILS option) to check responsibility of the company record

14. If a recovery office has not been associated to the company record:
- Use function APER (Amend Periods of Responsibility) to claim responsibility
Please note that: to claim responsibility you need to use the COTAX role in the MUID in which the case should belong, based on the post code

15. If the responsibility of the case is not the correct MUID:
- Use function TRCA (Transfer Case) (still using the COTAX role in the MUID in which the case belongs) to transfer the company record to the correct MUID
Please note that: The transferring office must transfer all Accounting Periods (APs) working local action as IDMS only recognises one Debt Management Office as being responsible for all outstanding liabilities for a Head of Duty for a company

16. When you have responsibility:
- Use function RAPP (Revise AP Pursuit) to set Local Action to 'Y'
Please note that: You cannot unset the Local Action signal using function RAPP (Revise AP Pursuit) once it is set

Or, if appropriate
- Use function RTPP (Revise Taxpayer Pursuit) to set Permanent Local Action to 'Y''