COM125010 - Repayments/reallocations: non automatic repayments: intervention in automatic repayments
Source: gov.uk (2025-12-09)


You must make repayments of CT using COTAX, except on specific instructions from Head Office. In the first instance, contact the COTAX Business Help Desk(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)to request authority. See COM124000 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/cotax-manual/com124000) for information about large repayments.

Where the conditions are met, COTAX will repay to debit or credit card. Those conditions are that:
- the last payment on the last Accounting Period (AP) in the repayment was made by debit or credit card
- the repayment is not for only interest
- the card payment was made less than nine months ago
- the repayment does not exceed the amount of the card payment
COTAX applies the conditions and you cannot and must not try to override repayment to debit or credit card where COTAX tells you that is the method it is going to use.

Where those conditions are not met, you must use Bacs to make repayment to the recipient's bank or building society account whenever possible.

For Bacs repayments:
- the company or its authorised agent must provide the necessary details of the company's, or its nominee's, bank or building society account
- the credit is normally made to the recipient's account on the third working day after you authorise the repayment
- COTAX only records the ‘date of issue' when it receives confirmation of a successful credit, which is usually five working days after the repayment is authorised
You can see the status of the repayment by using function VPPD (View Payment and Posting Details), selecting the repayment posting on the payments and posting screen and using the [OK] button.

Where no Bacs details are available, you should contact the company to explain the benefits of Bacs and request these details, either in writing or via an inbound telephone call; telephone details should never be requested on an outbound call.

COTAX stores Bacs and any nominee details and for non-credit or debit card repayments, uses the details received from the latest of:
- an original or amended return
- an update made by using function BOND (Bank and / or Nominee Details)
COTAX displays the details in function DIRR (Direct Repayment) and you should check them to ensure that the repayment is paid to the correct account.

Where the company advises you that the repayment should be made to a different account to that shown on the Bank and / or Nominee Details in VTPR (View Taxpayer), you can enter them in DIRR (screen COT171J). Those details are used only for this repayment and do not overwrite the details held on the COTAX record. If you want the details to be stored on the COTAX record for future use, you should enter them using function BOND.

To make a repayment using CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System), you need to transfer the overpayment into OAS and complete form Intelligent Payment Processing (IPP) Form; COM120100 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/cotax-manual/com120100) has guidance on completing the IPP Form; authorisation is required in most circumstances. You should also use COTAX function NOTE to record what you have done. Repayments made by this method are not recorded on COTAX and therefore not reflected in VPPD (View Payments and Posting Details). If you need the CHAPS details at a later date, you must contact HMRC Payments for them.

COTAX does not issue a payable order to a company address that is recorded as RLS and if you try to make the repayment using function DIRR (Direct Repayment), COTAX rejects the repayment details and shows a message telling you why.

For security reasons, COTAX does not repay an amount of £150,000 or more by payable order. These must be made wherever possible by Bacs. You can make these using the manual payable order process only in exceptional circumstances.

Exceptionally, if a company cannot receive a repayment by Bacs or payable order because it does not have a bank account, contact the COTAX Business Help Desk(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for assistance.

You should note the following:
- except in exceptional circumstances, you should not use CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) to make large repayments of Income Tax, tax credits or other duties that COTAX will not process. If you are asked to use CHAPS for these repayments or as a preference to Bacs, you must first contact the COTAX Business Help Desk (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
- repayments of CT for APs ending on or before 30 September 1993 must be made by the DM Miscellaneous Charges unit, and you should use the SEES SAFE Repayments stencil (SAFE 1) to ask them to do so. Where these repayments attract repayment supplement (Word 29KB) (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/gds/com/attachments/repayment_supplement.doc), see the Relief Instructions Manual at RE3195 onwards
- you should only make large repayments of (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) or more by payable order if the company or its authorised agent confirm in writing this is the only way they can receive the repayment; see COM124040 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/cotax-manual/com124040) for further details
See:
- COM125020 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/cotax-manual/com125020) for more information on manual repayments outside COTAX
- COM125011 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/cotax-manual/com125011) for a list of functions to use in particular situations