Guidelines for contacting HMRC by telephone
HMRC have published a new Statement of Practice (SP1/10) entitled ‘Business by telephone – HMRC Taxes Contact Centres’. The statement details the information HMRC will accept from individuals and their agents over the telephone.
Staff at HMRC contact centres need to be satisfied that the individual or agent making the call passes the necessary identity checks and that an agent is properly authorised to discuss a client’s affairs. HMRC also confirm that calls to their contact centres are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes and will be available in case of any disagreement as to what was said.
The statement includes a comprehensive annex which details what claims and notifications HMRC will accept over the telephone. For example, HMRC will accept notifications over the telephone up to a maximum of £5,000 for gift aid and pension plan payments. Any other notifications relating to gift aid and pension plans such as where the amounts exceed £5,000 or for carry back relief must be made in writing.