NI & CoHo Details

[Grasser73]

I've just received this from my agency:

Due to new legislation incorporated into the recent Finance Bill and implemented in April 2014, we are now required to record and report certain additional information in relation to all our contractors to HM Revenue & Customs.

Please could you therefore provide us with the following information:

Proof of your National Insurance number:
Even if you are working through a Limited Company, we require your National Insurance details. We can accept a copy of your original National Insurance card, P60, P45, any correspondence from Job Centre Plus or HM Revenue & Customs on their letterhead which includes your National Insurance number.

Companies House annual return:
Please provide a copy of your latest annual return for your Limited Company. If you have not yet submitted a return to Companies House, please provide any documentation that confirms the directorships and shareholders of your Limited Company. If you are providing services via PAYE or an umbrella company, this documentation is not required.

Is what they are saying true and do all agencies now request these details or are they just tying themselves up in red tape?

And, yes, I am cut out for contracting

[cojak]

Are you working in the Public Sector?

[Grasser73]

Are you working in the Public Sector?

No.

[Grasser73]

So this is probably about compliance and audit of the agency, so the revenue is saying ok, you pay contractor Ltd, but who owns that ltd? I would provide my NI number, no problem, for the companies house report they can pay the £10 and get a directors report off the companies house website. I thought that was why they took 15% of our rate?

This is inline with my thoughts too. CoHo site is there for anyone to use so let them use it!

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

This will be all as a result of the Finance Act and the updated Agencies Legislation - agencies have to make sure that the correct taxes are being paid to avoid debt transfer so they will be super vigilant at the moment

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

ESM2051 - Agency and temporary workers: agency legislation - provisions from 6 April 2014: service companies (including PSCs)

[TheFaQQer]

Companies House annual return:
Please provide a copy of your latest annual return for your Limited Company. If you have not yet submitted a return to Companies House, please provide any documentation that confirms the directorships and shareholders of your Limited Company. If you are providing services via PAYE or an umbrella company, this documentation is not required.

Send them a link to the Companies House website.

Failing that, tell them you will provide a letter on company letterhead confirming this information, signed by a director of the company. Since that would be classed as a legal document, that is technically all that would be required.

[malvolio]

ESM2051 - Agency and temporary workers: agency legislation - provisions from 6 April 2014: service companies (including PSCs)

Yes but, as has been said, the normal operation of a "PSC" by the standard contractor is out of scope of those regulations. Yes the "PSC" is acting as an "agent" but it's handling of its income and subsequent payment of workers is covered by the MSC and IR35 rules, not these agency ones which are for suppliers of temporary resources that they control.

In what other industry is a prime supplier allowed to be so totally ignorant of their own business I wonder...

Personally I'd tell them to sod off and get the information from publicly available sources. It's not in your contract to do their admin.

[Clare@InTouch]

It's normal for agencies to ask for proof of directorship, even for newly formed companies. We get it all the time, and I'm forever tempted to send them a link to Companies House so they can stop being lazy rather than download the details for them.

The NI number request is new, but understandable based on the new rules they are scared of.

[TheFaQQer]

Even a link to duedil, which is free, would give them the directorship of the company.