ICAEW’s Tax Faculty set out two issues in a letter sent to HMRC in October 2024. 

The first issue relates to the tracking of applications made by businesses. Feedback received from members suggests that HMRC is often unable to track applications made for businesses that do not have a pre-existing HMRC reference number.  

The second issue relates to the processing of form 64-8 to allow an agent to communicate with HMRC on behalf of the business. Based on members’ experiences, it is common for HMRC to: 

• process forms 64-8 of overseas companies as if they were self-employed individuals and ask that the overseas company registers for self assessment rather than CIS; or 
• reject forms 64-8 on the grounds that the CIS reference number and/or pay as you earn reference number have not been supplied, when neither are available at that point. 

HMRC has responded to ICAEW’s concerns and has said that it is in the process of making changes to its procedures to address these issues. These include: 

• helpline advisers offering a callback with a CIS technician if an application cannot be traced. If this further search fails, HMRC will offer the use of a Dropbox facility to allow the missing application to be resent directly to the right section of HMRC; and 
• adding the mandated agent details to HMRC’s system at the same time HMRC registers the subcontractor and creates a unique taxpayer reference. To do this, HMRC requires both the CIS and corporation tax sections of the 64-8 to be ticked by the agent. HMRC has confirmed that ticking both boxes will not trigger a request for a corporation tax return but is purely an internal workaround and the corporation tax record will be made dormant after the initial registration set-up has been completed. If the corporation tax box is not ticked, HMRC will contact the sender and ask them to update the 64-8 and return it via Dropbox.  

HMRC says that it is reviewing its guidance for the new online registration process to ensure it can trace an application using the acknowledgement reference.

Please send feedback – whether positive or negative – on whether HMRC’s new process works for getting overseas businesses registered as CIS contractors or subcontractors to adelle.greenwood@icaew.com.