I set up a client as a Contractor for the CIS scheme as he wanted to get a sub-contractor in to help him on future job, no problems with this registered in Oct and the client received his PAYE ref and his Acc Office ref numbers 5 days later.
I then asked for online authorisation to act on his behalf on 24th Oct, the next day my client account was showing that the code had been issued and this should only take 10 days so I knew I had plenty of time to get the first CIS return done by the Nov deadline.
My client still had not received the code by the 12th Nov so I phoned the CIS helpline and explained the problem, they said that I had to contact online services which I did and they said that they need the client to phone them as there is a problem with the information they hold but could not tell me what because I was not authorised as his agent for CIS, I explained that previously I had trouble getting authorisation for his SA because he had changed address and in the end I sent in a paper 64/8 and all his new details were updated on my Client Account as well as the new address, however they say that HMRC do not change the details across all the departments you have to contact each separately and change the address.
So even though they have issued letters containing the PAYE codes to his new address this still is not good enough and I am now having to meet up with him (otherwise it wont happen) so that he can phone them and update his details and then wait another 72 hours before applying for another code which may take up to 10 days
And on top of that I cant file the Nov return in time so the CIS helpline say they will still issue the £100 penalty but it should be overturned on appeal.
Why if there is a problem with the details and a code has not been issued cant HMRC just show on the clients waiting to be authorised list that there is a problem instead of showing code issued and us having to wait 10 days only to find that it had not been sent in the first place.
Right rant over, at least I am meeting him in a Pub
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
Us mere mortals are allowed NO excuses for doing anything late - a minute passed midnight and its fines and penalties all over the place. Yet they are accountanble to no-one!
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Sorted at last, 24th October until 30th November just for authorisation which should only take 10 days!
How wrong was I
Code entered on Friday and ticked as authorised but client still not showing on my CIS list so I can access the account.
Could not file the November return so a £100 fine will be on its way and now December is due, cant verify any subbies so in theory should not be making any payments
Looks like another lengthy phone call later today!
This work would be a lot easier if HMRC were not in involved, I feel like just packing it all in and going to live on a nice island in the sun
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
As long as you have a trail of paperwork showing where the fault lies, it should be easy to get that penalty wiped.
It sort of reminds me of filing an online VAT return for a client in the early days of being able to do so. (I've probably relayed this here before). I was filing the return on the last working day - but it wasn't coping with demand, and by the end of the working day I was unable to submit it. So I decided to submit it from home - no problem.
Except that when I got home, I discovered my own internet connection was down; an ISP fault, so I had to wait for them to fix it. I had a fix time of later that evening, so I went out. When I came home, I checked the connection - it was now working. The actual deadline wasn't that day, though, so I decided I'd submit in the morning (better than risking slightly drunk fingers mis-keying figures).
The next morning, the connection was down again - and the ISP didn't get it back up until it was too late. The VAT return was therefore submitted late - and a penalty issued.
We took it to tribunal, and it got quashed. The main argument was that it should have been possible to submit on the last working day, and it was their fault that it wasn't, not ours. Near the end of the judgement it said something like "It is quite ludicrous that a VAT registered business be penalised for HMRC's inability to provide enough server capacity to meet the demands it should expect."
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
Yes all listed from the date I first applied for authorisation so getting the penalty quashed should not be a problem, its just another unnecessary hassle.
Spoke to them today and they have said that the code I put in was all fine and the problem is their end with it not showing on my clients account, they say they will escalate it and have now given me a case reference number but can not tell me how long it will take to correct.
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
