Hand in genuine reference to another authority (8)
I believe the answer is:
remittal
'reference to another authority' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'hand in genuine' is the wordplay.
'hand' becomes 'mitt' (synonyms).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'genuine' becomes 'real' (associated in meaning).
'mitt' going inside 'real' is 'REMITTAL'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for remittal that I've seen before include "action to cancel obligation?" , "Handing over" , "transfer" , "reference" .)