In the US, there is a similar process whereby the tax authorities mail a Notice of Deficiency which contains the amount the taxpayer is required to pay. From the date of that Notice, the Statute of Limitations is suspended (90 days in the States) to give the taxpayer time to pay or appeal.

"A NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY is a letter from the IRS stating the amount of a taxpayer's deficiency and how it was computed. The notice formally notifies the taxpayer of the impending assessment, suspends the statute of limitations on assessing and collecting the deficiency and starts the 90-day period during which a taxpayer can petition the Tax Court for a redetermination of the deficiency without first having to pay it."

http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/march97/return.htm