With the 19th March deadline for CIS300 returns for the tax month ending 5th March ending close of play today HM Revenue & Customs website was still displaying in the “Service Issues” section

“HMRC Online Forms (updated 19 March 2010)

Some customers using HMRC online forms are experiencing problems, typically pages not loading and / or being timed out. Our technical partners are investigating this problem as a matter or urgency. The problem is intermittent and we suggest you log off and try again.

If you are trying to send a nil return please note you can call the CIS Helpline on 0845 366 7899 and they will accept your return over the phone.

We will update this message as soon as we have more information. In the meantime we apologise for any inconvenience.”

After spending a large proportion of yesterday and today trying to file CIS300 monthly returns for two clients I eventually had no choice but to make a formal complaint to HMRC earlier today.

I also asked the CIS Helpline what the postion was on penaties if the return when in late as it was looking like I would simply be unable to file the returns online and the answer after checking with her supervisor was:

“Penalty notices will be issued in the normal way but you will have the right of appeal“.

I said polity (I really did not feel like being polite but as she was just trying to do her job and it is management at HMRC that are at fault not individual staff afterall):

“So even though I have tried to file these returns on time and actually spent most of yesterday and today trying  to do just that, and even though there are “known issues” whihc HMRC acknowledge on there website, I will have to go through the extra time try to explain to my client’s why they have a penalty and also more time then appealing against it. Do that seem fair or reasonable?”

The lady polity replied:

“I am sorry for your inconvenience and remaining so patient, but you will have to follow the usual appeal proceedures“.

I also asked if returns could be filed over the phone as they were saying “Nil Returns” could be filed over the phone after all (fat lot of use that is in real terms!).  Not unsuprisingly the answer was no as that would be way to helpful and supportive on the part of HMRC. Madness given the problems with HMRC’s website.

How on earth are HMRC’s computers going to cope with the increased monthly online submissions and payments from next month when the new PAYE compliance penalty rules take effect? It is very worrying as I personally doubt they are going to cope well at all.

Government seems very keen to increase compliance penalties and burdens on taxpayers and their agents but unable to run working websites to enable the compliance to be done or a timely and smooth running basis.

I was genuinely shocked, frustrated, angry and appauled over the last two days at HMRC’s website performance and also at the crass, dissmissive attitude of senior staff at HMRC.

Why on earth didn’t HMRC make a formal statement about the problem and the penalties as they had known issues?

I kept trying all day today costing me time and lost income as clients are not interested in hearing it is HMRC’s fault and eventually at around 6.30pm got both returns submitted after LOTS of failed attempts in various stages of submission. For both returns the green whirly sign or green progess bars for ewach and every step of submission whirled away for anything between two and 15 minutes so what should have taken around 5 minutes for each return ended up taking around 6 hours in total yeaterday and today ! Is that commercial sence?

Thank goodness I don’t have that many more CIS returns to submitted each month it was be a total nightmre!

Well well well … there’s a suprise… there are “known issues” according to my ten minute call to HMRC’s online helpdesk 9 minutes of which was listening to music and the usual annoying message to visit HMRC’s website. Annoying particularly as the reason for the call was that their website was not working. 

Around 1 hour and 45 minutes of trying to keep an eye on the crazily slow green progress bar before HMRC’s website finally crashed.

£100 fine for late submission and only two weeks in the month in which to get all client’s CIS returns in on time.

I am doing my bit to keep my client’s up to date so my question to HMRC is  “why are HMRC not doing their bit to make this crazy tax system much fairer and reasonable to us for the taxpayers and their accountants”.

If I added up all the wasted time now sitting listening to stupid messages when you phone them, plus all the wasted time with problems with HMRC’s website we could probably do a lot of good for the world if it was avoided and certainly make a better profit (the pay more tax as a consequence!).

So what’s the standard reply from HMRC “TRY LATER” but they don’t actually know when you should try later and they are trying to fix the problem. Do they sereiously think we all have nothing beter to to do and businesses to try and run efficiently. Perhaps HMRC will pay us £100 compensation for all the wasted time and hastle? Yeh right…

It is about time HMRC scrapped the £100 monthly fine system as frankly their website and telephone services are not up to the job at present!

We can’t even go back to pen and quill as HMRC are now in the process of making online filing compulsory for many tax issue (and they ignore you letters if you write to them anyway!)

The problem with online filing is only set to get worse and worse with more and more returns being filed online.

Personally I am a fan on online filing in principle, saves paper, postage and other costs but at present these are out weighed by the increasing cost of filing on line due to problems with HMRC’s website.

Come on HMRC get your act together or lighten up on the penalty threats…

I would like to find something postive to say about HMRC at present. After all they have an important job to do. Problem is I just can’t think of a single thing to praise them for at present… and it is getting worse by the month.

Right now if we had a political party that said they would sort HMRC out and make the system much fairer on ordinary taxpayers just trying to comply I would vote for them.  I feel that fed up with dealing with HMRC on days I have to actually contact them in any way. On strike last week or so they were want sympathy? Ummmm