PAYE21163 - employer records: changing contact details online using Structured Action Requests (SARS)

Since October 2006, individuals have been able to amend and delete their contact details online. From 4 February 2008, this service will be extended to PAYE customers and their authorised agents. It will allow PAYE employers, who have registered, enrolled and activated the HMRC PAYE Online service, to submit requests to add, change or delete certain personal details held on the EBS employer record.

The new or amended information is submitted through a secure online channel and automatically updates the EBS employer record, as well as the customer’s online records. It generally takes about 48 hours for the details to be updated.

Employers and agents authorised to act for them online will be able to

• Change the main address
• Change the main contact details (telephone, fax number and email address)
• Add / change / delete trade name
• Add / change / delete correspondence name
• Add / change / delete correspondence address
• Change correspondence contact details (where correspondence name and address is already held)
• Delete all correspondence details

Note 1: There are two exceptions to the last four items above

• If the AGENT INDICATOR is set (this is shown on the employer record in EBS Function VIEW PAYROLL AND CORRESPONDENCE DETAILS)
• • Employers will be able to delete correspondence details (name, address and correspondence contact details) but will be unable to change any of these details
  • Agents will be able to view correspondence details, but will be unable to change or delete them

Please also see PAYE Agents below.

Note 2: An employer and their authorised agent will be prevented from adding a correspondence address to the EBS employer record if there is a non-UK business address recorded for that employer. Similarly they will be prevented from changing the employer business address to a non-UK address, if a correspondence address is already held for that employer.

PAYE Agents

Since October 2005, PAYE agents can be authorised online, currently their name and address details are manually entered on the EBS employer record by the Central Agent Authorisation Team (CAAT). From October 2007, this process is to be automated. In addition there will be a new AUTHORISED ONLINE INDICATOR in the EBS Function VIEW PAYROLL AND CORRESPONDENCE DETAILS to identify that the correspondence details and the AGENT INDICATOR have been entered online.

A registered employer may go online and submit a Structured Action Request (SAR) to delete all their correspondence details which would result in un-setting the AGENT INDICATOR and the AUTHORISED ONLINE INDICATOR from the EBS employer record. However, this will not delete the relationship between the employer and the online agent from the HMRC PAYE Online service. As a consequence the online agent will continue to receive online communications for that employer.

Employers who wish to cancel the authority of the online agent, must either request the agent do it using the online service or contact the Online Services Helpdesk and ask them to remove the authority for the agent to act.

Email address on EBS employer record

We are also enabling an employer to record an email address on the EBS employer record. An employer, who had registered, enrolled and activated the HMRC PAYE online service, can elect to view and send certain forms online rather than receive the paper version. In order to be notified online, the employer registers a notifications email address online which is used for this purpose. From October 2007, this ‘notifications’ email address and the email address on the EBS employer record will be the same.

It is important to note that when an employer notifies you of a new email address and that employer is registered for the HMRC Online service, the details entered on EBS will flow through to the online service and overwrite any ‘notifications’ email address recorded there.