HMRC further restricts Agent Dedicated Line without informing ATT

HMRC has announced further limitations on issues agents can call the Agent Dedicated Line (ADL) without pre-warning the Association of Tax Technicians (ATT), the association has said. 

As a result, the association sought “urgent” clarification from HMRC on the position where the deadline has passed, as it expects the majority of its members will not be chasing repayments via the ADL unless repayment is known to be overdue. 

News of the announcement followed HMRC’s decision earlier in December 2023 to restrict access to the ADL and Self-Assessment Helpline until 31 January 2024. 

In an email to agents regarding the ADL, HMRC stated: “We previously said we would deal with calls relating to SA filing, payments and repayments for the 2022 to 2023 tax year. However, due to exceptional levels of demand, we will be directing all ADL progress chasing queries for SA repayments to our digital ‘Where’s my reply’ tool from‌‌‌‌ Friday‌‌‌ ‌‌22‌‌‌ ‌‌December 2023.”

According to the ATT, HMRC has confirmed that agents will continue to be able to chase repayments via the ADL, but only in cases where the expected response deadline according to the ‘Where’s my reply’ tool has passed. 

The association has advised its members to continue using this tool and wait for the deadline to pass before calling HMRC.