CISR62640 - Monthly return: issue monthly return: replacement returns

| CISR62000 | Information contents | |—————————————————————————————————–|———————-|

Do I need to issue a replacement return?

Always establish the reason you have been asked to issue a replacement return. Remember– there may be other options. For example, accepting a Nil return by phone, correcting an existing return and so on.

As a general rule of thumb you can issue a replacement return if the original has been:

  • lost, or
  • destroyed, or
  • spoilt, or
  • never received.

How to request a replacement pre-populated return

From the ‘Identify Customer’ window complete the mandatory information fields (those marked with an asterisk ‘*’) in the top four boxes. (If you do not have the reference numbers you need, you can use the ‘find individual’ or ‘find scheme’ buttons as a tracing facility). Remember, the fastest route to a contractor scheme is by entering the Accounts Office (AO) reference. All other routes mean you have to select the right scheme from the CIS main menu. Then:

  1. Complete the ‘contact’ field by using the drop-down menu. There are four options here:
  • Customer
  • Agent
  • Capacitor
  • Third Party, or
  • Internal Enquiry.

If you select any of the first three, you will also need to complete the ‘channel’ field. If you select ‘internal enquiry’, these fields will be greyed out.

  1. If necessary, complete the ‘channel’ field by using the drop-down menu. There are four options here:
  • Phone (inbound)
  • Phone (outbound)
  • Paper, or
  • Face to face.
  1. You will only be able to complete the ‘receipt date’ field with the relevant date if you have selected ‘paper’ as the channel. This can be today’s date or earlier. For any other channel types this field should remain blank.
  2. Select the ‘OK’ button.

This will either take you directly to the CIS main menu (if you selected ‘internal enquiry’ from the ‘contact’ field in the previous window), or to the ‘authenticate’ window (if you selected ‘customer’, ‘agent’, or ‘capacitor’).

  1. If needed, authenticate the customer. If the customer satisfies each of the security checks select the ‘OK’ button to proceed to the CIS main menu.

If it is not possible to authenticate the customer, you cannot proceed with the issuing of a pre-populated return. It is, however, still possible to issue a blank return. (See the action guide at CISR62630 for more information here).

  1. From the CIS main menu select the name of the contractor scheme to which you need to issue a pre-populated return by checking the box to the immediate left of the relevant entry.
  2. Now select ‘Issue pre-populated return’.
  3. Using the drop-down menu on line one, select a reason for the return issue. If necessary, change the address type to either HMRC base or HMRC communication by using the drop-down menu.

If neither of the addresses is right, you will need to use ‘update customer’ through the CIS main menu before continuing.

  1. Enter the period to which the return relates
  2. Select ‘OK’

This will take you either to a:

  • confirmation window headed ‘issue pre-populated return’. The confirmation is that a return will be issued for a specific active period (month and year). Selecting the ‘OK’ button will take you back to the CIS main menu, or
  • warning message (also headed ‘issue pre-populated return) highlighting that a request has been made for a return for a period that is considered inactive. Selecting the period to which the return relates and then the ‘OK’ button will also take you back to the CIS main menu.

Remember, there are two possibilities if a return is requested for a period that is considered inactive. Either:

    1. the scheme is currently active but you have received a request for a return to be issued for a historically inactive period. Note here that the period will change to an active period when the return is received back from the contractor, not before, or
  2. the scheme is currently inactive and has a historically inactive period. Note here that the requested return falls in an historically inactive period, therefore the scheme may need reactivating. So, as this will not happen automatically, when you return to the CIS main menu you will need to select ‘update customer’ and manually enter or change the inactive end date in designatory information. See the action guide at CISR62650 for details of how to do this.

In both of these situations if the scheme is reactivated for an historically inactive period the consequence will be that we will issue penalties for the reactivated period.

Remember

You will need to verbally advise a customer (and / or agent) that the filing date for a replacement return remains the 19th of the month. For example, a contractor contacts you for a replacement return on (say) the 10th of the month. The original would have been issued by the 29th of the previous month, but the filing date remains that of the 19th.That is, nine days hence.