On the back of a promise in the Autumn Budget, this new consultation seeks views to update the CIS later this year
Specifically up for change in the Construction Industry Scheme is the ‘Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) Regulations 2005’.
Proposed changes to the tax will exempt payments made to local authorities or public bodies from the scope of the CIS, and require contractors to file a nil return if they have not paid subcontractors for a month, unless HMRC are notified in advance of no payment.
Changes will come into effect on 6 April
The consultation is open now to seek opinions on any potential final amendments to the regulations, or to clarify or provide further guidance.
For context, the CIS means that contractors must make deductions from payments to subcontractors, and notify HMRC, unless the subcontractor holds Gross Payment Status (GPS). Previously, HMRC created an Extra Statutory Concession as an administrative easement, meaning certain public bodies can be treated as holding GPS to receive contract payments without deductions.
The draft legislation will add Regulation 24ZA (payments made to public bodies) which would allow this concession to be removed, meaning certain public bodies can receive payments without deductions being withheld, exempting payments to these bodies from the scope of the scheme.
Furthermore, the requirement for construction contractors to file nil returns was removed in 2015. However, it has been decided that this move did not reduce administrative burdens for contractors and HMRC, instead increasing the number of erroneous late filing penalties.
The proposal, therefore, seeks to reinstate the requirement for contractors.
Dominic Currans, director, British Property Federation, said: “The latest statistics from the BSR are encouraging. The stock of homes waiting for Gateway 2 sign off has fallen, and the speed of decision-making, and thus average wait times, continues to fall.
“Last year’s intensive pressure on Government from us and the wider industry, and the consequential push of the new management team, seems to be paying off, hopefully making 2026 a year when Regulator delays cease to be a problem.
“At the same time, moves to a single industry regulator are also welcome, and the BPF will be engaging with the consultation on this launched just before Christmas.”
The consultation can be responded to via: cisconsultations@hmrc.gov.uk
Construction processes are changing bit by bit
In December last year, the government launched an online appeal service for local planning authorities, after a trial period where only some local planning authorities (LPAs).
The online appeals service is now available to all LPAs in England, and can be used to manage Householder (HAS), Planning (S78), and Listed Building (S20) appeals.
The Planning Inspectorate has also announced future additions to the online appeal service, including Commercial Planning, Commercial Adverts, and Advertisements on 17 December 2025 and Enforcement, Enforcement Listed Building and Lawful Development Certificates due in February 2026.
The new service provides several key improvements for LPAs:
- Faster, more efficient processes – streamlined submission and management of appeals reduces administrative burden
- User-friendly dashboard – designed in line with GOV.UK design principles to make reviewing and monitoring cases easier
- Better communication – improved communication between all parties, with less reliance on paper-based processes
- Continuous improvement – the system is regularly updated based on user feedback and real-world use
A video was released demonstrating the new appeals service.
