The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 4) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend Schedules 4, 4A and 4B to the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/1004) (“the principal Regulations”).

Regulation 3(2), (3) and (6) to (10) amend the principal Regulations to remove references to the statutory sick pay percentage threshold scheme and the requirement on employers to report payments of statutory sick pay to HMRC as a consequence of the Statutory Sick Pay Percentage Threshold (Revocations, Transitional and Savings Provisions) (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Order 2014 (S1 2014/897) (“the Order”). The Order which came into force on 6th April 2014 abolished the statutory sick pay percentage threshold scheme (the Scheme) with effect from that date. Employers have until 5th April 2016 to recover amounts of statutory sick pay paid in the years up to 5 April 2014. As a consequence of the Order an employer is no longer required to report amounts recovered under the Scheme or to report details of statutory sick pay.

Regulation 3(4) and (5) are consequential upon the Finance Act 2009, Schedule 55 (Penalties for failure to make returns) (Appointed Days and Consequential Provision) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/2395) (C.105) which appointed the days from which penalties in paragraph 6C of Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 (c. 10) will apply to returns under regulation 67B and regulation 67D of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003.

Regulation 3(4) amends paragraph 21EA(6) of Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations so that that paragraph does not apply to returns in relation to the tax year 2014-15 and subsequent tax years. This amendment is consequential upon the introduction of the in year late filing penalties in Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 (c. 10).

Regulation 3(5) inserts new paragraph 21G into Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations. This paragraph applies Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 and regulations 67I to 67K of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003 (“the PAYE Regulations”) (S.I. 2003/2682) to returns made under paragraph 21A or paragraph 21D of Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations. Those regulations, which were inserted into the PAYE Regulations by the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2396) set the quantum of the penalties by reference to the number of employees in the period to which the return relates; set the length of the initial period and set out the circumstances in which an employer will be liable to a penalty for the first failure to deliver a return in the tax year. Where an employer is also required to deliver a return under regulation 67B or regulation 67D of the PAYE Regulations, that employer will not be liable to a penalty in respect of a failure to deliver a return under paragraph 21A or paragraph 21D if the return under the principal Regulations is associated with the return under the PAYE Regulations.

A Tax Information and Impact Note has not been prepared for regulation 3(2), (3) and (6) to (10) as those provisions contain no substantive changes to tax policy.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering regulation 3(4) and (5) was published on 20 March 2013 alongside the Budget documentation and is available on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/tiins.htm. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to this instrument.