Finance Act 2004

Verification, returns etc and penalties

69Verification etc of registration status of sub-contractors

(1)The Board of Inland Revenue may make regulations requiring persons who make payments under contracts relating to construction operations, except in prescribed circumstances, to verify with the Board whether a person to whom they are proposing to make—

(a)a contract payment, or

(b)a payment which would be a contract payment but for section 60(4),

is registered for gross payment or for payment under deduction.

(2)The provision that may be made by regulations under subsection (1) includes provision—

(a)for preventing a person from verifying unless such conditions as may be prescribed have been satisfied;

(b)as to the period for which the verification remains valid.

(3)The Board of Inland Revenue may make regulations requiring the Board to notify persons of a prescribed description who make payments under contracts relating to construction operations that—

(a)a person registered for gross payment has become registered for payment under deduction or has ceased to be registered under section 63, or

(b)a person registered for payment under deduction has become registered for gross payment or has ceased to be registered under section 63.

(4)The provision that may be made by regulations under subsection (1) or (3) includes provision for a person to be entitled to assume, except in prescribed circumstances, that—

(a)a person verified or notified as being registered for gross payment, or

(b)a person verified or notified as being registered for payment under deduction,

has not subsequently ceased to be so registered.

(5)In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this section.

70Periodic returns by contractors etc

(1)The Board of Inland Revenue may make regulations requiring persons who make payments under construction contracts—

(a)to make to the Board, at such times and in respect of such periods as may be prescribed, returns relating to such payments;

(b)to keep such records as may be prescribed relating to such payments;

(c)to provide such information as may be prescribed, at such times as may be prescribed, to persons to whom such payments are made or to such of those persons as are of a prescribed description.

(2)The provision that may be made by regulations under subsection (1)(a) includes provision requiring, except in such circumstances as may be prescribed,—

(a)the person making a return to declare in the return that none of the contracts to which the return relates is a contract of employment;

(b)the person making a return to declare in the return that, in the case of each person to whom a payment to which the return relates is made, he has complied with the requirements of any regulations made under section 69(1) (verification of registration status);

(c)returns to contain such other information and to be in such form as may be prescribed;

(d)a return to be made where no payments have been made in the period to which the return relates.

(3)The Board of Inland Revenue may make regulations with respect to—

(a)the production, copying and removal of, and the making of extracts from, any records kept by virtue of any such requirement as is referred to in subsection (1)(b), and

(b)rights of access to, or copies of, any such records which are removed.

(4)Regulations under this section may make provision—

(a)for or in connection with enabling a person who makes payments under construction contracts to appoint another person (a “scheme representative”) to act on his behalf in connection with any requirements imposed on him by regulations under this section, and

(b)as to the rights, obligations or liabilities of scheme representatives.

(5)In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this section.

71Collection and recovery of sums to be deducted

(1)The Board of Inland Revenue must make regulations with respect to the collection and recovery, whether by assessment or otherwise, of sums required to be deducted from any payments under section 61.

(2)The regulations may include any matters with respect to which PAYE regulations may be made.

(3)Interest required to be paid by the regulations—

(a)is to be paid without any deduction of income tax, and

(b)is not to be taken into account in computing any income, profits or losses for any tax purposes.

72Penalties

If a person, for the purpose of becoming registered for gross payment or for payment under deduction,—

(a)makes any statement, or furnishes any document, which he knows to be false in a material particular, or

(b)recklessly makes any statement, or furnishes any document, which is false in a material particular,

he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £3,000.