CISR31050 - Register and maintain contractor: close contractor scheme

| CISR31600 | Action guide contents | |—————————————————————————————————–|———————–|

Close Contractor Scheme

The closure of a scheme is most likely to be triggered by changes made by the centralised employers group (NICEO) on EBS and passed to the CIS record through the daily interface. The following reasons for closure can be actioned through EBS.

  • Scheme ceased
  • Scheme merged
  • Scheme transferred
  • Scheme succession
  • Change of Scheme type: for example, employer with employees and subcontractors ceases to engage subcontractors (see the guidance at CISR31060).

Where a contractor has ceased the centralised employers group (NICEO) will note EBS of the cessation. They will then send a WAM to the CIS Centre at Newcastle, so that penalty inhibitions and return exemptions may be set for the appropriate monthly return periods following the cessation.

The CIS Centre at Newcastle will sometimes be the first to be notified that a contractor has completely ceased in business or that a contractor is insolvent. The CIS Centre Newcastle should take the following actions;

Subcontractor - Only type scheme (XP)

  • Close the scheme through EBS using the date the contractor last paid a subcontractor, or in Insolvency cases (where the date of last payment is not known) the date the contractor became Insolvent.
  • Vacate any CIS penalties issued after the cessation date except where any of those penalties have already been appealed against by the contractor. In these cases the normal appeal process should be followed.

Subcontractor and Employee type scheme (PSC)

  • Take no action to close the scheme. Instead, you should change the scheme type from ‘PSC’ to ‘P’ on EBS. Use the date of the change as the date the contractor last paid a subcontractor, or, in Insolvency cases (where the date of last payment is not known), the date the contractor became Insolvent.
  • Send a WAM to the centralised employers group (NICEO) requesting they take action to completely close the scheme on EBS.
  • Vacate any CIS penalties issued after the cessation / insolvency date except where any of those penalties have already been appealed against by the contractor. In these cases, the normal appeal process should be followed.