CISR63660 - Monthly return: Log and capture monthly return: How to log and capture a nil return by telephone

| CISR63000 | Information contents | |—————————————————————————————————–|———————-|

For reasons of security, logging NIL returns may only, as a rule, be undertaken by the CIS Contact Centre. This is because calls to Contact Centres are voice recorded. This means that, theoretically, a transcript of the call may be obtained in any case of dispute.

It will be therefore be very exceptional for a NIL return to be accepted by telephone in a network office.

If you receive a call from a contractor seeking to report a NIL return, you must explain that these can only be accepted at the CIS Contact Centre on 0300 200 3210.

However, the following action guide takes you through the process, should you have need of it.

  1. At the ‘identify customer’ window enter one of the following reference types
  • Unique Taxpayer (UTR)

or

  • Accounts Office (AO)

Although either/or will work, always enter the AO reference if you have it, as well as the UTR.

(Note, the system remembers reference numbers already entered today, so you may only need to enter the first couple of digits)

  1. Under ‘contact’ use the drop-down menu to select ‘customer’
  2. Under ‘channel’ use the drop-down menu to select ‘phone inbound’
  3. In the ‘receipt date’ boxes you will need to enter today’s date in the format dd/mm/yyyy. Then select ‘OK’. This will take you to the ‘authenticate’ window.
  4. Authenticate the customer then select ‘OK’. This will take you to the CIS main menu window.
  5. Where the UTR has been used for authentication, the contractor schemes linked to this UTR will be displayed. Select the scheme appropriate to the NIL return you are to log and capture. Then select ‘return capture phone’. This will take you to the ‘Return Details’ window with pre-populated references.
  6. Enter the return period using the format mm/yyyy. (The date of receipt will be pre-populated with today’s date and is unalterable). Then select the ‘NIL return’ button. This will take you to the ‘Confirmation Details’ window.
  7. If you select the ‘OK’ button by mistake, you will be taken to the ‘capture payments’ window. To rectify this and return to the ‘confirmation details’ window, simply select ‘OK’. (Be careful not to select the ‘cancel’ button here as this will take you back to the CIS main menu (or CMS, bypassing the CIS main menu if you accessed CIS through CMS).Check the NIL return box
  8. Obtain verbal confirmation from the customer that the return is correct and complete to the best of the contractor’s knowledge, then check Future Inactivity box in the window if the contractor advises that he will not be paying any subcontractors for the next few months or more.
  9. Selecting ‘OK’ will take you back to the CIS main menu window.

Partial save

If when you get to the ‘confirmation details’ window at step 7 above, you are unable for whatever reason (for example, a caller gets ‘cut off’) to complete the capture of a NIL return, you can use the ‘save partial’ button and come back to the NIL return capture at a later time or date.

To retrieve a partially saved return:

  1. Follow steps 1-6 above
  2. Enter the return period using the format mm/yyyy. (The date of receipt will be pre-populated with today’s date and is unalterable). Then select the ‘NIL return’ button. This will take you to the ‘other return exists’ window. A message tells you that ‘a return for this period has already been logged/partially captured.’
  3. Select the ‘continue capture’ button. This takes you back to the window you were in when the ‘save partial’ button was previously selected
  4. Continue with steps 8-11 above.

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Multiple returns

If after selecting ‘NIL return’ at step 7 above the CIS system recognises that a return for this scheme and period already exists, you will be taken to the ‘other return exists’ window. A message there will say, ‘warning: previous return captured. Check scheme reference and period before continuing,’

The window will show you the AO reference, return period and date of processing, which boxes have been checked at the ‘confirmation details’ window and any subcontractor details. A ‘re-enter details’ button will also appear next to the ‘continue capture’ button.

There are three options here:

  1. If you are content to capture regardless, select the ‘continue capture’ button. This will take you to the ‘confirmation details’ window. Continue with steps 8-11 above.
  2. If you need to alter the period, select the ‘re-enter details’ button. This will take you back to the ‘return details’ window. Continue with steps 7-11 above.
  3. If you need to select a difference scheme from those linked to the UTR, select the ‘cancel’ button. This will take you back to the CIS main menu. Re-select the appropriate scheme and continue with steps 6-11 above.