Legislation: Debt recovery under OP21 S.I. published

The Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2020

The statutory instrument SI 2020/1150 has been published which allows HMRC to recover PAYE from other relevant persons in a contractual chain under the off-payroll working legislation, Chapter 10, Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. The regulations come into force on 6 April 2021.

These Regulations mean that HMRC can pursue a third party who is a relevant person for the debt where they have been unable to recover the debt from the fee-payer. The client who is responsible for making the Status Determination Statement (SDS) needs to ensure that their supply chain is checked.

So, if the fee-payer (usually an agency) fails in their obligations to withhold PAYE from the off-payroll worker where they have been instructed to do so, HMRC will have the power to transfer the liability of the unpaid PAYE to the end client.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1150/regulation/3/made

Published: 22 October 2020