The End of the Extra Statutory Concession (ESC) B46!

 

HMRC have announced that Extra Statutory Concession (ESC) B46 will come to an end on 31st March 2011. Customers submitting Company Tax returns and P35 employers’ end-of-year returns after this date must make sure the returns are submitted to us by the required dates.
 
Background: ESC B46 was introduced in 1995 and allowed employers’ to file Company Tax returns and employer’s end-of-year returns late provided they were received by the last working day within seven days of the filing date. The ESC ensured that penalties would not be charged when employers had taken all reasonable steps to file the returns on time, but were prevented from doing so
e.g. postal delays.
 
From 1st April 2011, Company Tax Returns for accounting periods ending after
31 March 2010 must be filed online. All forms P35 and P14 must already be filed online. ESC B46 has therefore become redundant.