Fri, 1 Jul 2011

Revenue collection unit to pursue late payment

Anyone making late payments to HM Revenue & Customs will be pursued until the Revenue receives its share, the head of debt management and enforcement for HMRC has warned.

Speaking at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ conference last month, Dr Mark Abani, who personally signs off all Time to Pay requests above £1m for HMRC, said: ‘If you do not play the game we will relentlessly pursue you until we get our share.’

Dr Abani told the delegation of accountants that people making late PAYE payments will receive letters from HMRC with penalty notices attached. ‘If you have been making late payments on PAYE there will be envelopes landing with penalties,’ he said.

Although Time to Pay programmes will be available, he reiterated the message that those who fail to inform HMRC of problems would not be afforded leniency: ‘If you have not spoken to us in time we will not remove late payment surcharges… It is very important to tell HMRC what has gone wrong’, he said.