In case you hadn鈥檛 noticed, the Inland Revenue is having another go at reforming the Construction Industry Scheme, with the new system coming into force next April.

There is a six-month grace period when innocent mistakes will not be punished. After that contractors will face penalties of up to 拢3,000 for false declarations of employment status, with 拢100 fines for late returns.

The Construction Confederation (CC) wants the revenue to extend the penalty-free period to a year. Chairman James Wates has sent a pre-budget letter to the Treasury expressing this view.

The main changes to CIS are:

  • Contractors will have to 鈥渧erify鈥� whether they should be paying a subcontractor net or gross. This replaces cards and certificates.
  • Contractors will report on payments and deductions to subcontractors using monthly returns rather than the existing voucher system.
  • In the monthly return, a contractor must declare that it has checked the status of the subcontractor and that it is not an employee.

Source

Construction Manager