CH270500 - How to do a compliance check: penalties for failure to comply with notices: creating penalty charges

This guidance only applies to cases where the NPPS will not raise the penalty directly into The Strategic Accounting Framework Environment (SAFE). Officers should follow NPPS in all other situations.

SAFE provides IT support for the collection and accounting of miscellaneous charges including Schedule 36 and Schedule 23 penalties. Each Business Stream has a range of SAFE roles and these are allocated to SAFE Nominees as appropriate.

For more information about SAFE see the SAFE System Users Site contained in SAFE Guidance and Information on the Debt Management & Banking intranet site.

As soon as you are ready to assess the penalty you will need to give instructions to the SAFE Nominee to create the charge on SAFE, using an Internal Template, IIP39 in SEES Forms and Letters.

The SAFE nominee will need to know what reference number to use. Take care that the reference number brings up the right person, see CH21580, in SAFE.

For example, a partnership does not have a tax position for income tax, but it does for VAT. For income tax a penalty assessment is made on the nominated partner, so the SAFE Nominee will require the nominated partner’s IT Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) or National Insurance Number (NINO). For VAT the SAFE Nominee will require the partnership VAT Registration Number.

Similarly, you need to identify the correct person if you charge a penalty on a third party.

For example, you want to charge a penalty on ABC (Holdings) PLC and find an employer’s (BROCS) reference for ABC Group Payroll. You would not be able to use the BROCS reference because it is not for the correct entity (person). You would need to find the corporation tax reference (CT UTR) or VAT Registration Number for ABC (Holdings) PLC.

Primary area of the compliance check

Reference to use

Income Tax and CGT

IT Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), or National Insurance Number (NINO) - search for this in ETMP following the guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

Corporation Tax

CT Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) - search for this in ETMP following guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

Pension Schemes

IT UTR or CT UTR - search for this in ETMP following guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer. If, exceptionally, you cannot find a suitable reference you should email DL-Safe Unit Technical Team - search for this in ETMP following guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

PAYE/NIC/CIS

BROCS reference - search for this in ETMP following guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

VAT - Registered Trader

VAT Registration Number (VRN)

VAT - Non-registered Trader, Insurance Premium Tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax, Stamp Duty Reserve Tax,  Aggregates Levy, Climate Change Levy, Landfill Tax

use one of the following: the CT UTR, the IT UTR, the VRN, the BROCS (employer’s) reference, or, for individuals, a NINO - search for this in ETMP following the guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer.  If, exceptionally, you cannot find a suitable reference after trying all of the above you should email DL-Safe Unit Technical Team - search for this in ETMP following the guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

Inheritance Tax

NINO  - If you cannot use a NINO, email DL-Safe Unit Technical Team - search for this in ETMP following the guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

Petroleum Revenue Tax

the PRT reference

Failure to comply with an information notice under CEMA79/S118BA

use one of the following: the first 9 digits of the DTRN (the VRN), the CT UTR, the IT UTR, the BROCS (employer’s) reference, or, for individuals, a NINO.  If, exceptionally, you cannot find a suitable reference you should email DL-Safe Unit Technical Team - search for this in ETMP following the guidance in the Searching for a Taxpayer

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

The SAFE Nominee will also need to know

  • the person’s name (be sure you are assessing the right person)
  • the person’s address (when you use a pseudo IRIS reference)
  • the Local Reference (this is Sch 36 or Sch 23 PEN followed by your Pay Identity Number)
  • the charge type (this is Penalty Under Sch 36-FA08 or Sch 23-FA11)
  • the issue date of the penalty
  • the tax year end date, accounting period end date or the last date of any other period that is the subject of your compliance check and
  • the amount of the penalty.