IEIM904410 - Practicalities of Assumed Reporting
In practice, Assumed Reporting is something that the Platform Operators (POs) will need to agree between themselves. As they will already have ties to one another it should normally be possible to agree which PO will report the required information to the tax authorities.
Where an RPO is not reporting (the assumed RPO) because another PO has assumed the reporting obligation (the assuming PO) and will report on its behalf, the assumed RPO must notify HMRC of this on the online service. They will need to provide HMRC with information about the assuming PO including their name, address, a Tax Identification Number (TIN), and the jurisdiction in which the PO will be reporting. The notification must be made by 31 January of the year following the Reportable Period. The notification must be made each year. If the notification is not made, the RPO will not be able to rely on the exemption from reporting.
Where one PO reports on behalf of one or more other POs, this agreement should be properly documented, so that the assumed RPO can satisfy itself that it meets the requirements to be exempted. This should include the necessary analysis to confirm that the same information that would have been reportable by them will in fact be reported by the assuming PO. Particular care should be taken where the Platform is available to Sellers in multiple jurisdictions and the POs are in different jurisdictions to ensure that the countries’ lists of partner jurisdictions, and therefore the lists of Reportable Sellers, are consistent.
An RPO will only be able to rely on an exemption from reporting if the other PO is reporting the information either to HMRC or to the tax authorities in a Partner Jurisdiction (see IEIM 901810).
Where an assuming PO does not in fact submit the required information, HMRC will investigate the failure, if the RPO is UK resident, and may charge penalties accordingly. In addition, HMRC may investigate whether the assumed RPO was in fact eligible to be exempted from reporting. If it could not reasonably have believed that the assuming PO was in fact going to report the information that it was required to report, this would be considered a failure to report on the part of the assumed RPO, as they could not rely on the reporting exemption, and penalties may apply.