PAYE50016 - Employer returns: employer payments: payments received in processing offices (Action Guide)
To take the appropriate action when you receive a payment in a processing office, follow steps 1 - 14 below. The Guide is presented as follows
Step 1
Step 2
Steps 3 - 6
Steps 7 - 8
Steps 9 - 13
Step 14
For details of how to access any of the Employer Business Service functions, use PAYE057.
1. Review the payments and associated correspondence on the day they are received in your office
- If you have received a payment of overpaid child benefit
- If paid by cheque, send the cheque(s) and any correspondence to DMB Banking Shipley following the guidance in helpcard ‘BA015: Direct Taxes - Sending Child Benefit cheque payments to DMB Banking, Cheque and Form Preparation, Shipley’ (available on the DMB Guidance Gateway)
- If the customer wants to make payment in cash, ask them to take their payment to a Post Office or pay at their own bank branch. You should check that the customer has the appropriate payslip (PS1(CHB)) to accompany the payment
- Otherwise, for all other payments
- If there is a cash payment in sterling go to step 2
- If there is a cheque payment in sterling go to step 3
- If there is a payment in euro see 'Payments in euro' at PAYE50010
Cash payments
2. Cash payments are not normally handled in processing offices. Customers should be directed to take their payment to a Post Office or pay at their own bank branch. You should check that the customer has the appropriate payslip to accompany the payment
Cheque payments
If you receive a cheque payable to HM Customs & Excise
- Go to step 3
Otherwise - Go to step 5
3. When you receive a cheque made payable to HM Customs & Excise
- Telephone the Voluntary Arrangement Service (VAS) (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
- Ask VAS to confirm that a Revenue debt is included in the Voluntary Arrangement
- If VAS confirm that you can accept the payment go to step 4
- If VAS confirm that there is no Revenue debt send the cheque and accompanying correspondence by TNT Track and Trace to
HM Revenue & Customs
VAT Controller
VAT Central Unit
BX5 5AT
4. If VAS confirm that you can accept the payment:
- Ask them to confirm how the payment is to be allocated
- Complete a payslip(s) for the Revenue debt and include details of the C&E debt(s) on a compliment slip
- Send the payment direct to DMB Banking Shipley (see step 14)
5. When you receive a cheque you must establish whether there is a payslip
- If the cheque is accompanied by a fully completed payslip go to step 7
Otherwise - Go to step 6
6. If there is no payslip or the payslip you have received is incomplete you must prepare a payslip. To do this you should
- Prepare a pro-forma payslip using the Print Payslip (PP) application. For NIC&EO cheques follow the guidance in helpcard ‘BA013: Direct Taxes - Payslip and cheque preparation before sending’ (available on the DMB Guidance Gateway)
Cheque completed correctly
7. You must ensure that any cheque received has been completed correctly. It should be:
- Payable to HM Revenue & Customs or a similar designation (for example, ‘HMRC’, ‘Inland Revenue’, ‘Collector of Taxes’ or ‘HMIT’)
- In-date for presentation, that is dated not more than six months earlier than the date it will be presented for payment
- Completed to show the same amount in both words and figures
- Signed with any alterations also signed or initialled
8. If the cheque has been completed correctly
- Go to step 14
Otherwise - Go to step 9
Cheque completed incorrectly
9. If a cheque has not been completed correctly your next action will depend on the type of error or omission
- For ‘No Payee’ go to step 10
- For an ‘Incorrect Payee’ go to step 11
- For a ‘Post-dated cheque’ go to step 12
10. If there is no payee
- Where there is no doubt that the payment is for HMRC impress the HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS ONLY stamp on the payee line and treat as normal
And then - Go to step 14
11. Where the payee is incorrect
- Return the cheque irrespective of the amount
12. For a post dated cheque, if your office has suitable security arrangements to store the post dated cheque you must:
- Consider if the post dated cheque is acceptable
- Retain the post dated cheque until three working days before its date
And at that date - Send the post-dated cheque to DMB Banking Shipley with any pro-forma payslip required for processing following the guidance in helpcard ‘BA014: Direct Taxes - Sending cheque payments to DMB Banking, Cheque and Form Preparation Shipley’ (available on the DMB Guidance Gateway)
13. If your office does not have suitable security arrangements to store the post dated cheque you should on the day of receipt of the payment go to step 14
Where to send cheque payments
14. Cheque payments for:
- Tax credit debts
- NIC&EO
- Tax or combined tax / NIC
should be sent to DMB Banking Shipley on the day of receipt. Guidance on how to prepare the cheques and payslips and how to send these to Shipley can be found in the following helpcards which are available on the DMB Guidance Gateway
- ‘BA013: Direct Taxes - Payslip and cheque preparation before sending’
- ‘BA014: Direct Taxes - Sending cheque payments to DMB Banking, Cheque and Form Preparation Shipley’