Form 42 deadline extended - again
The Inland Revenue has extended the filing deadline for Form 42 relating to director's share transactions for a second time and simplified the Form following complaints and concerns from accountants and other professional bodies.
Following representations about printing and other difficulties relating to the new employment-related securities reporting requirements, the Revenue announced in June, that it would extend the filing date from 6 July 2004 to 6 September 2004 for those companies who had not been issued with the form. Now that date has been put back to November 30, 2004.
Since then the Revenue has met and received further representations from the major accountancy bodies, who have identified continuing concerns, particularly for those coming within the scope of the employment-related securities' rules for the first time.
The concerns relate primarily to advisers' ability to communicate the new requirements to their clients and employers' ability to collate the required information by the revised 6th September deadline, which is only shortly after the main holiday period.
The Revenue said: "Our primary aim is to help those trying to comply with their obligations so that we receive the required information. We recognise that both employers and advisers who are new to these reporting requirements may need to put information-gathering systems in place. In recognition of this and of the representations made, we have decided to allow a further extension of the date by which information has to be reported if companies are to avoid penalty proceedings."
What this means is that in cases where the Revenue did not issue a Form 42 to the employer in April 2004, it will not take penalty proceedings if it receives the required information by 30th November 2004.
However, it said that companies that have been issued with a Form 42 that has not been returned have now missed the filing deadline of 6 July 2004 and penalty proceedings will now be started for the failure to make a return.
Simplification
Another issue raised by the Working Together Group, the Revenue and tax advisers partnership group, was that of a simplified form for those needing only to report share acquisitions on incorporation.
The Revenue has said that it is happy to receive the required information by means of a letter or spreadsheet where that is more convenient than using Form 42. The Working Together Group have designed a simple format that may be of interest to newly-incorporated companies and their advisers. A copy of that form, which we have approved for use, can be obtained here: Form 42 Substitute (PDF 66K)
More information, including reporting by agents; agent reporting for more than one company; completing the form when information is incomplete; and what figure is put on the form for market value:
is available here on the Revenue's website