CIS 6 Revocations

This is a question/information for Carl Whittaker, who I know has helped construction industry clients appeal against their CIS 6 status being revoked.

As I run a payroll bureau, I also have clients that are involved in the construction industry. They pay their workers under PAYE, so of course, they were not contacted by HMRC in last year's leverage exercise.

My clients freely admit that, despite our best efforts, they are not the most punctual payers of Inland Revenue payments, as their clients paying them on time is such a hit and miss affair.

Surprisingly, these companies have recently had their CIS 6 certificates renewed, which leads me to believe that HMRC are not applying the rules (see IR40) across the board, rather they are selectively legislating against some companies.

When the information can be collated, I'm sure that the companies that have had their CIS 6 status revoked, will prove to be those companies that were identified in last year's leverage exercise, as possibly having the employment status of the workforce wrong.

Does this mean that HMRC are revoking CIS 6 status on compliance failure, when the underlying reason is HMRC tunnel vision belief that those companies are getting the employment status of its workforce wrong?

If a company is unfairly caught up in this action, (i.e. it is paying workers correctly under CIS) and as a result cannot continue to trade, it cannot sue HMRC for legislating it out of business can it? (Rhetorical question!)

Can the fact that HMRC is not applying the rules in an unbiased manner, and apparently not in line with its own legislation, be used to fight individual appeals more effectively?

CWALSH