The CIOT and ATT have written to HMRC requesting an extension of the ‘soft landing’ approach to registrations under the new trust registration service (TRS), so that no penalties will be charged for registrations made after the deadlines, but before the requested dates. These ‘requested dates’ are:
5 January 2018: for new 2016/17 self-assessment registrations in respect of trusts and complex estates (after current deadline of 5 December 2017); and
5 April 2018: for existing trusts needing to report for 2016/17 (after current deadline of 31 January 2018).
The TRS was first made available to agents on 17 October, but requires agents to obtain access to a new agent services account (ASA), which is still not fully integrated with the main government gateway services. Agents act for 80% of the trusts population, according to information held by HMRC. These requested deferrals ‘would be a sensible and welcome relaxation which will provide more time for trust agents to comply without the risk of a penalty being imposed’, the professional bodies say. Their letter also advises: ‘Given that the ASA is intended to be the main gateway into all HMRC’s digital services in the future, it is also essential that the initial roll-out of the service is not rushed.’
The CIOT and ATT have written to HMRC requesting an extension of the ‘soft landing’ approach to registrations under the new trust registration service (TRS), so that no penalties will be charged for registrations made after the deadlines, but before the requested dates. These ‘requested dates’ are:
5 January 2018: for new 2016/17 self-assessment registrations in respect of trusts and complex estates (after current deadline of 5 December 2017); and
5 April 2018: for existing trusts needing to report for 2016/17 (after current deadline of 31 January 2018).
The TRS was first made available to agents on 17 October, but requires agents to obtain access to a new agent services account (ASA), which is still not fully integrated with the main government gateway services. Agents act for 80% of the trusts population, according to information held by HMRC. These requested deferrals ‘would be a sensible and welcome relaxation which will provide more time for trust agents to comply without the risk of a penalty being imposed’, the professional bodies say. Their letter also advises: ‘Given that the ASA is intended to be the main gateway into all HMRC’s digital services in the future, it is also essential that the initial roll-out of the service is not rushed.’
