HMRC warns about CIS penalties
Doug Tweddle, HMRC Senior Responsible Officer for the CIS Reform Programme, said: "It's important that contractors operating the CIS scheme make sure that all their outstanding returns are sent in by October 19, to avoid a penalty. We would obviously prefer not to have to issue penalties, but having had six months to get into the routine of sending returns in by the 19th of each month, contractors will now face penalties if they fail to do so.
"It's important to remember that nil returns must be submitted too - to make life easier, this can be done with one phone call.
"It's not too late for contractors to get their filing obligations up to date and avoid penalties, but they must act now".
Delay
Although new CIS was introduced on 6 April 2007, the penalty regime was deferred for six months, until October. This was so that contractors could familiarise themselves with the requirements of the new scheme, in particular, the need to submit returns on a monthly basis. To avoid becoming liable for a penalty, all returns due since April 2007 must be received by HMRC by October 19.
To raise awareness of the deadline, HMRC is issuing warning letters to those who have failed to file returns, including penalty warning fliers, mailing out information to all contractors and agents this month, and in some cases, ringing non-filers personally. HMRC has also worked with industry bodies to ensure that they have made their members aware of the penalty regime.
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Susie Hughes
The Editor © Hardhatter 2007