Terms and Conditions
We try to keep our Terms and Conditions easy to understand and avoid too much legal jargon. That way, we hope you’ll read them in full and have a better understanding of our relationship. By using any of our services, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions and our letter of engagement. If you have any queries about what these terms and conditions mean, please contact us.
1. Definitions
In these Terms and Conditions:
“We”, “us” and “our” refer to CISTAXBACK LTD, BACKTAX4U, and any associated agents.
“You” and “your” refer to you or anyone else using our Services, which are explained below, and services provided via our website, selfemployedtaxback.com that require you to enter personal information.
2. Our Services
Tax Refund
Using all the information you have provided via telephone calls and emails or online form, we will assess and calculate your claim, and complete and submit the appropriate signed forms to apply for a tax refund from HMRC. With regards to tax return forms submitted using our online submission service, unless specified by you the client we will assume that any earnings figures are both 'before tax' ie - gross, and also have been taxed at source at a rate of 20% by the clients main contractor, or employer as is the norm under the Construction Industry Scheme, and your tax return submission to HMRC then submitted on your behalf will reflect that.
Tax Return
If HMRC require you to submit a Tax Return, but a Tax Refund is not available or suitable, we will complete and submit a Tax Return to HMRC.
Handling an enquiry from HMRC
If HMRC launch an enquiry into your Tax Return or Tax Refund claim, if instructed by you we will gather the required information and respond to all queries from HMRC until the enquiry is closed.
3. Our Obligations
3.1 We will accurately process all information you provide to us and take all actions necessary in connection with the provision of our Services as quickly as possible.
3.2 If HMRC charge a penalty for the late filing of a document which is caused by us, we will pay it. If it’s not our fault, you will have to pay it.
3.3 We maintain high standards of conduct in our dealings with government departments and others. We will decline to provide a Service if we believe that doing so may breach those standards. We will notify you as soon as we can if we decide not to provide a Service.
3.4 If you do not provide all the relevant information we cannot be held liable for the outcome of your Tax Refund or Tax Return.
3.5 We will not be liable for any delays in Tax Refunds being paid to you that have been caused by HMRC’s procedures and security checks.
3.6If an HMRC investigation is made into a self assessment tax return which has been approved by you we do not take responsibility for any income or expenses that have not been entered on the tax return.
3.7 Overpayment Relief Claim
You acknowledge and agree that, as part of the PAYE and Self Assessment Services, we may submit to HMRC on your behalf an Overpayment Relief Claim under Schedule 1AB Taxes Management Act 1970. The overpayment relief claim will need to be approved by you before being submitted to HMRC.
Correspondence to HMRC
3.8 Please note that we cannot accept any post or correspondence that is addressed to or meant for HMRC. We will return all such post and correspondence to you wherever reasonably possible to do so.
4. Your obligations
4.1 You agree to co-operate with us so that we can provide the Services in accordance with our obligations.
4.2 You agree to provide the information that we ask for promptly and to make sure that this information is true, accurate, correct and complete, including taking all the necessary steps to get this information from other sources if required.
4.3 You will keep accurate records and receipts as required by HMRC to support your Tax Refund claim or Tax Return and keep safe for a period of six years. Any figures for earnings or expenses you supply to ourselves and instruct to submit to HMRC must be fully compliant with your records and are assumed to be so upon receipt.
4.4 You must tell us about all your sources of income and the amounts you receive, including any PAYE, self-employed, pension or rental income and any benefits received in every tax year for which we are completing a Tax Refund claim or Tax Return. You must also provide honest, accurate and correct details of the money you have spent for the purposes of your work or business in terms of expenses.
4.5 You are responsible for approving any Tax Refund claim or Tax Return before we submit it to HMRC. We will email a completed return to you to check. You are to then email or post back replying that you have nothing to add or remove which is interpreted as an indication of approval and is considered to be 'signed' as approved. The responsibility for the accuracy and content of the figures and facts contained within the tax return remains with you the client. We act as submission agent only.
4.6 You accept that you may have to pay back any money received where the claim was based on incorrect information provided by you. If that happens, you will have no right to claim back any money from CISTAXBACK LTD or BACKTAX4U, including our fee, unless we have made an error too.
4.7 You agree that we can receive all tax rebates from HMRC on your behalf. You further agree that we are entitled to deduct our fee from any tax rebate received by us on your behalf. We agree to pay to you the remainder within 14 days of receipt of such rebate from HMRC. In the event that any tax rebate is paid directly to you in error by HMRC, you agree to notify us immediately upon receipt of such payment and we shall invoice you for the amount of fees payable in respect of the provision of our Services, which shall be payable in accordance with Condition 13 above.
Payment of all invoices shall be due within 14 days of the date of the invoice.
4.8 Appointment of Alternative Agents
In the event that you engage another agent in addition to us to act on your behalf in connection with the Tax Rebate Services, the fees payable for our Services remain payable from any tax rebate received by you or on your behalf.
4.9 Force majeure
We shall have no liability to you under this agreement if we are prevented from, or delayed in performing, any of our obligations under this agreement or from carrying on our business by acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond our reasonable control, including (without limitation) strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes, failure of a utility service, act of God, fire, flood, storm, accident, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage or compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction.
5.1 Under normal circumstances we take our fee from your refund when we received it from HMRC, so you have nothing to pay up front. If there is no refund due but you have to file a tax return anyway (e.g. if you're self employed but not under the CIS scheme) we will give you the option to pay our fee before we submit it.
5.2 Information Requests
You agree promptly to supply the necessary information we request to enable us to provide the Services on your behalf. You understand that all information that you provide to us for this purpose must be accurate and correct and fully verifiable by your records. If you fail to give us accurate and correct information and we submit that information to HMRC in respect of the provision of the Services, you will be fully liable for the consequences.
5.3 You acknowledge and agree that we may, in our absolute discretion and without cause: (i) decide not to respond to any email or survey; (ii) decide not to investigate or pursue (or to continue to investigate or pursue, as the case may be) any claim for a tax rebate; and/or (iii) decide not to prepare or continue with the preparation of a self assessment tax return. In such circumstances we shall notify you promptly of such decision (but need not provide a reason for such decision) and no fee shall be payable to us. If you have already paid us a fee in respect of such Services, we will promptly reimburse it to you.
6. How we handle your refund
6.1 You authorise us to receive payment of all sums relating to Tax Refunds claimed by us on your behalf. We will deduct our fees from the sums received and promptly forward the balance to you.
6.2 If HMRC send a refund direct to you without our authorisation, you must pay our fee. We will take all legal and necessary action to retrieve any fees owed to us.
6.3 The calculations and computations we produce to submit your Tax Refund or Tax Return are for our use only.
7. Data protection and money laundering
7.1 We will never disclose your information to any third party.
7.2 Any personal data you provide to us will only be used to carry out our Services.
7.3 We reserve the right to record and monitor some telephone calls, emails and other electronic communications for training and quality purposes.
7.4 We may contact you by using any contact details you have provided. You can ask us not to send you any information on our offers or services at any time by contacting us.
7.5 We will not pass your details to anyone outside of CISTAXBACK LTD or BACKTAX4U.
Complaints process
In rare event of complaint please tell our member of staff that you wish to discuss your issue with our senior tax agent. Your contact details will be taken so that we can arrange a phone call at a convenient time.
Before your phone call a member of Team will speak with the member of staff involved in the matter and collate our notes of the issues and decisions at each stage.
The Team will then try to deal with the issue by;
• Establishing what has happened so far, and who has been involved
• Clarifying the nature of the complaint and what remains unresolved
• Clarifying what you feel would put things right
When the course of action has been decided and carried out, we will confirm with you that the issue has now been resolved and the complaint is closed.
If you prefer to make your complaint in writing instead, please write to:
BACKTAX4U
CLYDE OFFICES. 2ND FLOOR
48 WEST GEORGE STREET
GLASGOW
G2 1BP
Your written complaint will be acknowledged in writing within 7 working days of its receipt.
7.7 Cancellation.
You may cancel your instruction to us to act as your agent at any time. Simply email or telephone that this is your wish and we will delete you as a client from our files within 24 hours.
BACKTAX4U. TAX AGENT
LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT.
Below you will find a summary of the service that will be provided in our capacity as your tax agent.
WHAT WE WILL DO
1. We will endeavour to ensure that you and your work/business activities are fully up to date with all matters concerning the production and submission of your annual self assessment tax return as submission agents only. We will advise you of any deadlines that you must meet and assist you in ensuring that your tax liabilities are accurate, efficient and take full advantage of your entitlements and allowances as per current HMRC regulations.
2. We will, after initial registration as a client, if instructed by you, liaise with HMRC on your behalf and carry out an overview of your past historical annual tax returns, going back a period of four years.
3. If instructed by you, we will look to prepare and submit an application for overpayment relief going back a period of four years and request therein to HMRC that all overpaid tax formerly subjected to our client be repaid forthwith by way of a tax rebate.
4. We will accept from HMRC on behalf of our clients, all paid and repaid amounts into our working bank account. From there all amounts will be electronically transferred to our clients after our commission/fees are deducted.
5. We will accept from HMRC on behalf of our clients, all correspondence pertaining to our clients affairs and endeavour to notify our client when contents of said correspondence require actioning by our client.
WHAT WE WILL NOT DO
6. We will not offer our client any advice pertaining to avoiding their full responsibilities regarding the taxation of their work/business activities.
7. We will not comply with any attempt to falsify or subvert any information or calculation thereof to be submitted to HMRC that is presented to us by a client. Any client in breach of this will be deleted from our records.
8. We will not carry out any audit of a clients bookkeeping or accountancy records for the purposes of a clients legal duties.
9. We will not act as a clients accountant or tax advisor. Our role is strictly as a tax agent pertaining to the matters mentioned. (points 1 - 5)
10. We will not take responsibility for the accuracy and efficiency of a clients record keeping or for the accuracy of any figures presented to us as agents from a client for the purposes of presentation to HMRC. All such figures are ‘assumed’ to be accurate in accordance with a clients records and suitable for presentation to HMRC. The responsibility for the accuracy of figures derived from a clients records is entirely the clients.
WHAT YOU MUST DO
11. You are asked to answer any questions we have from time to time to put to you, either via telephone, in writing, or via email honestly and accurately, and accept that we will submit any figures you give us, either via telephone, in writing, or via email to HMRC on your behalf on the ‘assumption’ that they are honest and accurate and correspond with your own internal business and work record keeping activities. You fully accept that the responsibility for the accuracy of afore mentioned figures used by ourselves on your behalf is entirely your own.
12. You are required to take responsibility for the safe keeping of your work/business records for a period of six years following the submission of any matters pertaining to figures contained within such records.
13. You are asked to cooperate with us by responding to any communication from us either via tax, telephone, email or in writing within a reasonable amount of time.
14. You accept that once an emailed instruction from you to us to submit a tax return is received that will be interpreted as your approval and instruction to us to submit to HMRC.
15. You accept and acknowledge that the format of our agent relationship with you the client is that you will never at any point be asked to ‘pay’ us any money. Any fees for the appropriate service owed to us will be deducted from any rebates that are forthcoming to you. Standard tax rebate commission 25%. Historical submissions £500. Tax return £299. Processing £100. Tax investigation £499. Telephone advice free of charge. Example. Client with one years annual tax return resulting in tax rebate of £10,000. Fees - 25% @ £2500. admin @ £299. processing @ £100. Total deducted from rebate - £2899. Total paid to client - £7101.
These are the terms of our letter of engagement to all clients.