HMRC have been exploring ways in which to improve the end to end processing time for paper forms 64-8 and have found that one particular problem can be overcome in a very simple way. Advice on doing so is included below.

An agent cannot be authorised to act for a client until a record has been created for that client - this is of particular importance for SA. If an SA1 (or CWF1, SA 400 or SA 402) is not processed by the time the 64-8 is actioned then there will be no SA record to authorise the agent for and the 64-8 will not be processed any further.

To overcome this, HMRC advise that the SA1, CWF1, SA 400 or SA 402 should be stapled to the 64-8 when it is submitted. The forms will then be processed by a specialist team within HMRC’s Centralised Agent Authorisation Team so that the client is registered for SA and the agent authorisation are both processed at the same time.

If this advice is not followed, the forms are likely to become separated. This advice applies only in these circumstances as in general HMRC would prefer letters to be submitted unstapled.