Agent Representatives attending Nigel Kingsley (NK) CIOT, Sussex ICAEW Peter Roberts (PR) - CIOT, AAT Les Bray (LB)

Transcription

1 Date of Meeting 23 June 2014 Group Name Chair: HMRC Lead Agent Lead Brighton - Sussex Tim Lintott (TL) Agent Representatives attending Nigel Kingsley (NK) CIOT, Sussex ICAEW Peter Roberts (PR) - CIOT, AAT Les Bray (LB) CPA Brian Knight (BN) ATT, CTA Janet Barker (JB) AAT Chris Robertson (CR) IFA Caroline Cole (CC) ACCA, ATT Miles Carey (MC) ATT (Fellow) Apologies Malcolm Bradshaw (MB) ACCA Tim Risbridger (TR) CIOT, ATT Keith Sellens (KS) ICAEW Guest Gary Townley (GT) Intellectual Property Office HMRC attendees: Ian Marshall (IM) DMB Field Force Jacqui Hall (JH) DMB Debt Mgmt Yinka Tayo (YT) WT Coordinator 1. Welcome, introduction and apologies: TL welcomed agents to the meeting and asked for a round table introduction for the benefit of the guests present. Apologies received from MB. JH is a team lead within the Debt Management and IM is a DMB Field Force team lead. 2. Action points from previous minutes YT mentioned that she did not get a response back from agents regarding AP2: Agents to inform YT of feedback regarding CT helpline as per request in AU40 (continuous improvement in publishing guidance on what queries need to be put in writing, etc). It was agreed that agents had no feedback to give. 1

2 3. Issues closed since last meeting (attached - contents will be discussed at the meeting by exception) YT mentioned that a lot of work done had been done since the last meeting and issues closed. PR wanted to know more about WT029 and if agents can still add on to R40 process. 4. Summary of open issues YT had previously sent the summary of open issues to the group. She asked the group to let her know of their interest in any of the issues raised by other groups. 5. Presentation: Intellectual Property Office: GT introduced himself and gave a presentation on IP which was well received by all in attendance including the agents and HMRC staff. GT covered various aspects of IP in relation to agents business, what is IP?, valuing, licensing and franchising IP, etc. He further talked about the different types of IP rights to include Patents, Trade marks, Design, Copyright and Trade secrets, where they fit in agents business, how to protect them and the ways in which agents can use IP to its full potential through licensing and franchising. He said IP does not provide legal, business or other professional advice so if you are in any doubt, agents should get independent advice. GT also informed agents of where to get help and support. The presentation was interactive with much interest from agents. Feedback received from agents was positive. They found the session very informative, interesting and potentially useful for their clients. Handouts and IP Basics handbook (The business owner s guide to understanding your IP) were given out to agents. GT also informed that he and his colleagues within the IPO are happy to attend any of the agents arranged sessions on IPO as they intend to raise awareness. Agents completed feedback questionnaires given out by YT. All thanked GT for an enjoyable session. AP1: GT to forward e-copy of presentation to agents via YT. 6. Update on Groups existing/ new issues/suggestions. YT had previously sent updates on Group s existing issues and suggestions. She went over these focusing on updates and the group agreed on some issues to be closed. R40 Process WT029 (JISD): Closed What is the issue? An agent rang the Leicester dedicated agent line on ; however the operator said that she could not see their 64-8 authority on her records. Agent explained that they had a copy of the agent s 2008/09 tax calculation from HMRC in front of them dated 31 July, but she said her system was not linked to the Leicester claims system which is why the 64-8 was not showing on her system, so she could not discuss client s affairs with them. Are the systems linked up sufficiently? Extract from March JISD update: 'A pilot scheme was introduced to trial filing R40 (claim for repayment of tax deducted from savings and investments) returns online. Agents software products provide the option of sending clients income information as an online SA tax return so we have speeded up the process by enabling agents to claim repayments by the same method. Customers have also been encouraged to complete form R85 and register for gross interest to avoid making an annual claim'. The JISD PBs have agreed that this project is closed. Supp WT 037 Code amendment creating underpayment (Closed). 2

3 All the coding issues submitted for review by JISD have been examined and action taken where necessary. Any further systemic issues related to coding will be dealt with on a case by case basis as and when submitted. Sussex Sup WT 193 Missing online codes (Open) I am still finding that a fair few of my online clients who do have SA records (and PAYE employment or pensions) do not show their PAYE coding notices online to view, so I am not able to view these and have to call the Agents Dedicated Line to find out what the codes are and how they are made up. Can you possibly find out if there is any way as an agent I am able to request that their codes are loaded onto their online records, or is it just pot luck if this happens? I do not know what the criteria is for this if any. Progress: 11/04/14 HH: It appears that the drop down list for the new tax year was omitted from the upgraded menu over the weekend upgrade on 5/6 April and was defaulting to the previous year. If this issue is still being encountered please provide further details. Supp WT108 SA302: (Closed) This issue is related to the closed WT108, S122, S095 & S130. SA302 is not easily downloadable and following requests from Mortgage Lenders. Agents are finding this frustrating and would like HMRC to look into this asap. WTC had already informed agents of this known issue and progress made to date but agents would like this to be submitted. Ref AU41- WT108: In relation to a previously closed issue relating to SA302s for mortgage income verification purposes - this is currently under review as a result of misunderstandings mainly on the part of mortgage lenders who are asking clients for paper copies of the SA302 tax calculations even where the client has filed their return online. HMRC is currently in contact with both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to discuss the basis and the impact of this requirement on HMRC and our customers. Negotiations are continuing in April and we will advise the agent community as these progress. In the meantime HMRC will continue to provide paper copies. However, as a result of the Mortgage Market Review there will be some new FCA legislation which comes into effect on 26 April Issue: Residency Helpline (Closed) Residency Helpline, apparently closed, leaving people wondering whom to contact for queries about residence. I would add a recent situation which I have come across in relation to a request for a certificate of residence. This is an online service, but even if, as in the case I had recently, the individual had clearly been in the UK for more than 183 days in 2013/14, the certificate of residence issued only confirmed that the taxpayer was resident to the date on which the certificate was signed. Not particularly helpful when the certificate was requested so that the individual could present it to the French authorities when receiving the proceeds of sale of a previous holiday home in France. The French authority requires it to cover the date of completion. The Residency helpline details have been updated as indicated in WT126 closed on 7/06/12, An update was published in WTP48 and the website has been amended to reflect the telephone changes. YT also made reference to recent issues received from NK. 1. I have had a technical problem (which is nationwide). I spoke to the agents online helpdesk that following submission of forms SA100 s online, the response shows the time of acceptance as GMT 3

4 rather than British summertime. The person spoken to said that this had been raised before with the relevant department being notified, but there had been no response. This issue relates to the closed WT200 issue HMRC online services not updated to reflect BST but still showing GMT. YT shared the response to the known issue with agents. HH: The business area has advised that the discrepancy arises because the HMRC validation service which returns the online acknowledgement uses BST, whereas the Govt Gateway doesn t. Therefore any acknowledgement the Gateway provides to the 3rd party software will show GMT. As HMRC are one of many customers who use the Gateway we are unable to change this. This is in fact how both the Gateway and HMRC services have always functioned. 2. It has been pointed out to me that on a self assessment statement (SA300) issued to clients, the statement date is shown as just the month in which it was issued, but online the actual date is shown. YT had investigated into this issue prior to the meeting. This process reflects date the process was run and last transaction. Agents should forward evidence where this has been causing problems. NK also mentioned an ADL telephony issue received from colleagues. YT asked NK to forward evidence to her. AP2: NK to forward specific evidence of ADL telephony issue to YT. CR mentioned that coding adjustment is still causing a problem with reference to P800 being wrong and clients spending repayment before HMRC requesting it to be refunded. He also mentioned the issue regarding duplication of repayments. AP3: CR to forward details of issues to YT for further investigation. Agents expressed an observation regarding the inconsistency in the PAYE ADL call back system and lack of adequate expertise. YT advised agents to monitor this and keep her informed if persistent. PB, CR and BN commented on the Property campaign that agents did not receive acknowledgments or responses from HMRC. YT suggested agents to feedback via the HMRC website. 6. Key messages from HMRC DMB Updates: JH and IM gave an overview of their roles within DMB. Updates included the DMB campaigns, new DMB helpline number ( ) which was opened on 28 April Opening times are 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. Detailed information can be found on the website. JH explained that Field Force are now more flexible over when and how they made contact and this included making weekend calls. JH suggested agents call the ADL during opening hours and outside that call the DMB help line. Agents present have not used this facility yet. Agents would like to know more about the end to end process of DMB i.e what time DMB are brought into a case and the stages that follow. JH also mentioned update on correspondence to customers; this is continuously looked into for improvement. JH asked agents if they have experienced any issue with messages left on their phones from DMB call back service. Agents said they had not. The agents thanked both JH and IM for their attendance at the meeting which they found very useful. RTI and Agent Strategy updates: 4

5 YT made reference to AU41 and updated agents on specific RTI related subjects especially on PAYE. YT mentioned that the Basic PAYE Tools for tax year is now available and an update to the existing version. She gave an update on Tax Agent Strategy and made reference to the May/June briefing note she gave on Agent Online Self Serve (AOSS), Identity Assurance (IDA) and mentioned that HMRC aims to build the new services (build and test basis) and deliver an early version to some users by December This will then be enhanced and made available to more agents from 2015 onwards. YT also gave out the Joint Initiative on HMRC Service Delivery (JISD) update and encouraged agents to go through the AU41 detailed information of relevance to them. Counter-Avoidance Briefing: TL gave out a handout of the June 2014 tax journal briefing from the Director of HMRC s Counter- Avoidance Directorate. He explained the key areas of the journal to include the purpose of the new Counter-Avoidance directorate, why HMRC feel the need for operational change, the organisation of staff, and work processes within the directorate. Also how this fits with the rest of HMRC e.g Large Business and HNW unit, along with the main priorities of the directorate. Agents found the session very informative. 7. AOB/Local WT news stories PR mentioned he had recently started using the CIOT forum on CIOT website and wanted to find out if this has the same purpose as the LWT meetings. YT answered that this could be similar but may be used by other CIOT members for communication purpose. YT will enquire more about this. YT and TL mentioned the closure of the Enquiry centres with the impact on the meeting venue. YT asked if agents would be interested in hosting future meetings. TL suggested that he can still make arrangements within the current venue to be used until further notice. 8. Date of next meeting: 10 November 2014 Summary of Action Points: AP1: GT to forward e-copy of presentation to agents via YT. AP2: NK to forward specific evidence of ADL telephony issue to YT. AP3: CR to forward details of issues to YT for further investigation. Summary of hyperlinks: Agent Update Employer bulletin JISD March 2014 update: Agents blog- Agent Account Managers: 5