PAYE RTI News
GNS message for late payment updated
July 1, 2014
HMRC have published the updated text of the Generic Notification Service message for late payment or underpayment of PAYE and Construction Industry Scheme payments. In a What’s New message on its website, HMRC says that they will shortly begin to issue these messages to employers where their records show that a full payment of the liability reported by RTI has not been made by the deadline. The messages will be sent shortly after HMRC completes its check of records after the payment deadline for the month or quarter has passed.
The text of the message has been edited in order to take account of feedback from stakeholders, and it now reads:
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) records show you did not make full payment on time. If you have not already done so, please bring your payments up to date and ensure future payments are made on time and in full. Paying on time and in full is important as otherwise you may be charged in-year interest and late payment penalties.
If you had no PAYE payment to make because you didn’t pay any employees during this tax period, you should let HMRC know by sending an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for this tax period.
To see why HMRC have issued this notice, please check HMRC Tax Dashboard or PAYE Online which provides details of your payments and PAYE charges.
It should be noted that the Tax Dashboard and the Payments and Liabilities viewer are not updated in real time, so it is worth checking that all RTI submissions and payments have been sent to HMRC before calling them to find out why a GNS message has been issued. HMRC says that GNS messages are meant to remind employers to check that they have filed returns and made payments on time in order to keep up to date on their PAYE obligations.
The ICAEW Tax Faculty has published some advice for employers on what to do if they receive a GNS message, including recommending that employers check whether they need to file an EPS to tell HMRC they haven’t paid anyone in a tax month, and says that “employers do not need to take any further action” if they have filed an EPS (if appropriate) and ensure they pay in full and on time in future.
It is important that PAYE and NICs are paid on time and in full to avoid interest charges and penalties. Although there are no automated penalties for the 2014-15 tax year, HMRC will raise penalties clerically for persistent and serious underpayment of liabilities.
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