HMRC Weekly Update No17

In earlier Weekly Updates 14 and 15, we explained that the ECS Interface was going to be switched off before the peak in July. As you know, ECS is the Employer Compliance System and all P11D and P46(car) information is input into ECS either by e-filing or manually by HMRC colleagues. The information then flows through an interface into NPS. It might help you to know then that the ECS interface is currently switched off. We will keep you in touch and let you know when it is being switched on again.

Post – work state

I have been asked by colleagues to give you an update on correspondence.

As you know, we are prioritising all of our incoming correspondence and managing that as a national picture to make best use of our resource and to smooth any peaks and troughs. In terms of managing the priorities and our resulting levels of performance, this is roughly where we are. Please bear in mind this is the national picture and there may be variations locally:

1. Repayments and forms - broadly five days old;
2. Pensions and benefits - we are keeping these under 40 days old and hence the oldest items are dated in May;
3. Customer letters (the catch all after the other two categories are removed) - this post is older but we are recovering ground on this quickly following the redeployment of resources to manage the notice of coding activity earlier this year - around 7% is over three months old.

We are looking constantly at our priorities across the different classes of post. We will move resources to deliver the best performance we can although, as I am sure you will understand, this may lead to responses taking a little longer than we would wish in a minority of cases. Our programme will continue over the summer months as we complete the work on coding notices and we will continue to identify the opportunities that arise or that can be engineered as a result for reducing lead times in other areas.

Employer Bulletin – moving online

In the last issue of Employer Bulletin, we let you know about the move to providing employer information online rather than on paper. Provided you are registered we will in future send you e-mail alerts telling you that the Employer Bulletin, the downloadable material previously available on the Employer CD-ROM, and any other relevant information is available on HMRC’s website.

As you know, the Employer Bulletin and CD-ROM keep employers up to date with changes and information. We would be grateful if you could help us by encouraging employers, pension and payroll providers, members and agents to register.

Although you may already have registered an email with us for other purposes, to receive e-mail alerts detailing new information such as new online toolkits that replace the CD Rom and the Bulletins, you will need to ‘opt-in’ to receive the information by email.

The registration process is quick and easy. Simply go to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/forms-publications/register.htm where you will be asked to provide:

• Name
• PAYE reference number
• Email address
• Telephone number and a contact name

We will maintain a small number of paper copies for those who are exempt from filing online, either because they do not have online access or other reasons

Employer CD-ROM – moving online

As we move towards a complete set of online services for employers, payroll providers and pension providers we have reviewed the contents of the Employer CD-ROM. From February 2011 the CD-ROM will be replaced by a downloadable product. This will be a set of payroll tools and calculators and will be available to download from the website straight to your computer. It is important that your 2010 CD-ROM is fully compatible with the download and to do that employers must download the September update. We have published more information about this and the September update on our website and you can find this at www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/cdrom/index.htm

We will send you an email alert when the download is available. Register your email address now at www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/forms-publications/register.htm

Kind regards

David

David Ellis
Business Customer Unit - Business Engagement Team
HM Revenue & Customs