CISR92130 - Procedures in NIC&EO PAYE Employer Office, Longbenton: Printer Friendly Continuation Sheets (PFCS)
A limited contingency is in place to assist contractors where their computer software was not ready for the implementation of the Construction Industry Scheme from 6th April 2007. This should only affect a small minority of contractors who previously used impact printers and instructions for such contractors will be given. This area of work will not be received through PEGA.
Contractors who contacted the CIS Helpline to advise their computer software was not ready for CIS were advised of the alternative methods of submitting returns. These are
- e-channel
- manual returns.
Where the contractor insists they cannot submit their returns by either method they will be able to obtain Printer Friendly Continuation Sheets (PFCS). The CIS Helpline will set a signal to restrict the issue of pre-populated returns for a maximum period of 3 months. PFCS will be issued for each period for a maximum of 3 months. Each period will have
- enough continuation sheets for the number of subcontractors the contractor has stated
- a return declaration which the contractor must sign
- instructions for the contractor on what they should do
- an envelope for the contractor to return the PFCS and declaration.
When the PFCS signal has expired, pre-populated returns will be recommenced. Where the contractor’s computer software is still not ready for CIS, they will need to phone the CIS Helpline again to request a further supply of PFCS. NIC&EO will receive the PFCS directly as the envelope used by the contractor will have the NIC&EO address on it. There should be no need for any PFCS after 6th April 2009.
Action to be taken {#}
On opening the envelope you should check the contents to ensure
- a declaration is enclosed and that it has been signed
- all documentation must be official HMRC documents - photocopies of any form are not acceptable.
Where the declaration has not been signed you should
- return the contents of the envelope to the contractor with a completed form CIS300(RL)
- not log or capture any information for the return.
Where any of the PFCS or declarations are not on official HMRC stationary, or include any photocopies, you should
- return the contents of the envelope to the contractor with a complete form CIS300(RL)
- not log or capture any of the information for the return.
Where the contents of the envelope are on official HMRC stationary and the declaration has been signed
- date-stamp the reverse of the return with the date the return was received
- log and capture the information.
How to log and capture a PFCS {#}
From the ‘Identify Customer’ window
- enter the AO Ref or UTR.
Note: If the UTR or AO Ref is not entered or is entered incorrectly an ‘Unmatched Return’ work item will be created.
- select ‘Internal Enquiry’ from the Contact drop down menu
- select ‘OK’.
The ‘CIS Main Menu’ window will then be displayed,
- select ‘Return Capture Paper’.
The ‘Return Details’ window will be displayed and you should
- enter the return period
- enter the date of receipt, this should be date stamped on the reverse of the return
- select ‘Manual’ as the type of return
- select ‘Log and Capture’.
Where an incorrect or invalid return month is entered an error message will be displayed telling you to check the return month you have entered. You should
- alter the date if you have entered it incorrectly, or
- if the return month has been entered as it is shown on the paper return, re-select ‘Log and Capture’ the ‘Capture Payments’ window will be displayed
- check to see if the subcontractor is listed on the Name or UTR drop down menu under the ‘Find Verified Subcontractor’ heading at the top left hand side of the window.
Multiple returns {#}
If, when logging and capturing a return, you see the warning message ‘Previous return captured’, you should check the scheme reference and the month before continuing as this message indicates that a return has already been captured for the same scheme and return month. You should only select
- ‘Continue Capture’ if you are content with the return details shown on the paper return and the ‘Confirmation Details’ window will be displayed.
If you are not content with the details you have entered select
- ‘Re-Enter Details’ to allow you to check or re-enter the return month details.
The ‘Return Details’ window will be displayed, you should then select
- ‘Cancel’ if you need to re-enter the AO Reference and the ‘Identify Customer’ window will be displayed
- check and re-enter the details as appropriate
- select ‘Log and Capture’ and the ‘Capture Payments’ window will be displayed
- check to see if the subcontractor is listed on the UTR drop down menu under the ‘Find Verified Subcontractor’ heading at the top left hand side of the window.
Subcontractor details listed {#}
If the subcontractor is listed
- select the UTR or name from the drop down menu.
If there are greater than 300 entries on the drop down menu, only the first 300 will be shown. If the entry is not on the list, you should
- manually enter the UTR and the subcontractor details will then be populated at the top right of the window
- enter, under the ‘Payment Details’ heading, the ‘total payments’, ‘cost of materials’ (if any) and the ‘total deduction’ made as shown on the PFCS
- select ‘Add’.
Where there are no entries in any of the payment columns this means that no payments have been made to that subcontractor for that month and no entry is needed. The added subcontractor details will appear under the Payment Details heading at the bottom of the window. You should follow the above process for each of the subcontractors on the PFCS for that same return and month.
Note: All entries must be keyed-in exactly as they appear on the return.
Once all entries on the return have been captured
- select ‘OK’.
The ‘Confirmation Details’ window will then be displayed and you should complete the appropriate check boxes as follows
- Nil return – only to be populated when there have been no subcontractor payments that month.
- Subcontractor employment status - The contractor should confirm that they have considered the employment status of each subcontractor included on the return, and any continuation sheets. If it has not been ticked on the CIS300 you should leave the check box blank.
- Subcontractors verified - a contractor should verify the payment status of the subcontractor(s) to whom they are about to make payment(s). If it has not been ticked on the CIS300 you should leave the check box blank.
- Declaration has been signed – It is important that you must select this checkbox in all cases. If the contractor has not signed the declaration the return must not be logged or any information captured.
- Future inactivity - If a contractor anticipates that they will not be paying any subcontractors in the six months from the date of their return then they need to let us know. This will save HMRC from issuing a monthly return unnecessarily.
If the Subcontractor employment status and Subcontractor verification boxes have not been ticked by the contractor, the CIS system will capture this point and report it as a compliance failure automatically and there is no further action for NIC&EO to take. You will be presented with an error message and prevented from completing capture, if you try to continue without checking any of the above boxes.
The Contact Name and Contact Telephone number fields will be pre-populated if CIS holds these details. You should then
- turn to page 1 of the contractor’s return and look at the ‘Contact Details’ at the bottom of the page
- check to see if it is blank or the details differ
- enter the details into the appropriate fields
- select ‘OK’.
The PFCS will now have been logged and captured.
Subcontractor details not listed {#}
If the subcontractor details are not listed, you should enter the following details from the PFCS under the ‘Subcontractor Details’ heading
- subcontractor UTR
- subcontractor name
- verification number (if provided)
- total payments
- cost of materials (if any)
- total deduction made.
You should then
- select ‘Add’.
The added subcontractor details will appear under the Payment Details heading at the bottom of the window. You should follow the above process for each of the subcontractors on the PFCS for that same return and month.
Note: All entries must be keyed in exactly as they appear on the return.
Once all entries have been captured
- select ‘OK’ and the ‘Confirmation Details’ window will be displayed
- complete the appropriate check boxes. See the ‘Subcontractor Details listed’ section above
- select ‘OK’.
The PFCS will now have been logged and captured.
Saving a partially captured PFCS {#}
You can save a partially captured PFCS at any stage of the capture process. At any point when entering subcontractor details prior to selecting ‘OK’ you should
- select ‘Save partial’.
Retrieving a partially captured PFCS {#}
From the ‘Identify Customer’ window you should
- enter the Accounts Office Reference or UTR
- select ‘Internal Enquiry’ from the Contact drop down menu
- select ‘OK’.
The ‘CIS Main Menu’ window will be displayed and you should select
- ‘Return Capture Paper’.
The ‘Return Details’ window will be displayed and you should
- enter the return period
- enter the date of Receipt - this should be date stamped on the reverse of the return
- select ‘Manual’ as the type of return
- select ‘Log and Capture’.
The ‘Other Return Exists’ window will be displayed and a message will be shown as ‘A return for this period has already been logged/partially captured’. In this case, you should
- select ‘Continue Capture’.
You will now see the window where ‘Save Partial’ was selected and should
- continue to capture the details from the PFCS.
Removing subcontractor details during the capture process {#}
From the ‘Subcontractor Details and Payment Details’ window, you should
- place a tick in the check box against the appropriate subcontractor under the heading Payment Details
- select ‘Remove’.
The subcontractor details will then have been removed.
Correcting subcontractor details during the capture process {#}
From the ‘Subcontractor Details and Payment Details’ window, you should
- select any field in the line of subcontractor details that needs to be corrected under the heading ‘Payment Details’.
You will now see that the details for the subcontractor populate the boxes on the right of the window. You should now
- select any of the boxes required and overwrite the contents
- select ‘Update’.
The altered subcontractor details will be added under the Payment Details heading at the bottom of the window.
Unreadable characters on a PFCS {#}
Where characters on a PFCS are unreadable, you should take the following action dependent on the field that cannot be read
- return month – enter XX in the month field and XXXX in the year field
- total amount deducted (pence) – leave as 00
- any other field – enter XXXX.
Storage of PFCS and declarations {#}
Printer Friendly Returns and their respective continuations sheets need to be stored for a total of 7 years on a rolling basis. They should be stored inMM/YY order.