| CISR19600 | Action guide contents |
A Scheme Specific Agent is one that only acts for a contractor
in connection with a specific CIS scheme or schemes. A contractor
can specify a Scheme Specific Agent that is different to their
Customer Level Agent.
The Scheme Specific Agent will act for the contractor in
connection with all matters for that particular Construction
Industry Scheme including verification of subcontractors and
submitting monthly returns on forms CIS 300. Scheme Specific Agents
may often be payroll firms rather than accountancy
practices.
If no Scheme Specific Agent is appointed, then the system
assumes that the CLA is acting, if there is one. By contrast, a CLA
cannot ever act for a contractor in connection with a specific
scheme where a Scheme Specific Agent has been appointed. So, for
example, a contractor might operate four different Construction
Industry Schemes but only have a Scheme Specific Agent for one of
these. The CLA would therefore act for the remaining three but not
for the scheme where a Scheme Specific Agent has been appointed.
Large partnerships and companies are probably more likely to
have a Scheme Specific Agent as well as a CLA. In some cases, a
Contractor may have several different Scheme Specific Agents. For
example, these might be payroll firms located in geographical
proximity to the contractor’s various construction sites.
Details of the Scheme Specific Agent are stored in CIS and
can only be amended there. The name, address and reference number
for the Scheme Specific Agent will need to be manually typed on to
the record for each Construction Industry Scheme where the
contractor wishes the Scheme Specific Agent to act. If a contractor
has many schemes, information about the Scheme Specific Agent does
not automatically flow from one scheme to another. When changes
occur, it is necessary to manually update each scheme’s
record. So, where an agent dealing with several schemes operated by
a contractor changes their place of business, every scheme record
will have to be amended to reflect that agent’s change of
address.
