COM130001 - Returns / notices: notices and returns: introduction

A company served with a notice to deliver (Word 29KB) must deliver a standard, approved, computational style company tax return with appropriate attachments.

The notice to deliver specifies a time limit for filing the return, normally 12 months after the end of an AP. Failure to comply with the time limit renders the company liable to penalties.

As part of the filing obligation the company must complete a return form

• CT600 for a CTSA AP

Or

• CT200 for a CT Pay and File AP

Companies can use approved substitute versions of the paper return forms or deliver their returns electronically using the HMRC‘s free Corporation Tax Online Service or approved third party tax software.

The company tax return consists of

• The completed return form
• Accounts, if the company has an obligation to prepare accounts

And

• Computations clearly showing how the return figures have been derived from figures in the accounts

Computations accompanying a paper return can be in whatever format the company finds suitable for its business. Computations accompanying a return delivered online must also be delivered online in PDF (Word 27KB) or XBRL (Word 28KB) (Extensible Business Reporting Language) format.

From 1 April 2011 all companies have to file their company tax returns online for accounting periods ending after 31 March 2010, and pay their Corporation Tax electronically for any accounting period.

The whole company tax return, including the return form, the accounts and the tax computations, have to be delivered online using either HMRC’s own filing software or approved third party tax software that produces a company tax return meeting certain standards.

Until 1 April 2011, companies can continue to file their returns on paper or online with attachments in PDF format, or they may file online and voluntarily adopt the XBRL standard before it becomes mandatory.

Failure to provide any part of the information required means that the return is unsatisfactory and that the company has not met the filing obligation imposed on it.

It is important to note that for

• CTSA APs, the requirement is that any statements and reports needed to satisfy the notice form an integral part of the return, and a self assessment (Word 28KB) cannot be made until a company has fully met its filing obligation

Whereas for

• CT Pay and File APs such additional information had to be supplied ‘together with’ the return, but was still required in order to satisfy the filing obligation

Every company tax return for a CTSA AP must contain a self assessment of the amount of tax payable for that AP.

A company may amend its return if it wants to change an item or items contained in a return previously made for an AP.

There are rules to ensure that if a company is sent a notice, it makes a return for its APs even if the period specified in the notice is not an AP.

If a company that is outside the charge to CT (because, for example, it is dormant (Word 28KB)) is served with a notice it must make a Nil return to satisfy the notice.