Tax return deadline moved back as online system fails

The Revenue Service confirmed that work had been taking place to resolve technical issues affecting customers accessing their online tax returns.

In recognition of this the deadline has been extended by another 10 days to 17 March.

‘We’re extremely sorry for these technical issues, and we know customers expect better,’ said Nicky Forshaw, director of the Revenue Service.

‘We’re working with our technical specialists to establish what has gone wrong and fix it as quickly as possible.

‘We’re extending the deadline so please do not worry, you will have plenty of time to complete your return.’

States of Guernsey chief resources officer Bethan Haines said she wanted to assure customers that resolving this matter was an urgent priority.

‘I would also like to apologise for this disruption and thank everyone for bearing with us while we address it,’ she said.

The deadline for 2021 tax returns was first extended by a week in late January to 7 March.

The Revenue Service said that work had taken place yesterday to narrow down the potential causes of what appeared to be a complex fault, unrelated to any other recent issues that have affected online services.

More than 1,000 customers successfully completed their returns online over the weekend, but investigations showed problems developed affecting significant numbers of customers from around 6pm on Sunday.

The States said that it was working with technical partners, including its main IT contractor Agilisys to understand the details of the fault and provide a solution as a priority, but at this stage it was not possible to confirm how quickly services would be restored.

The Revenue Service has asked people not to phone or contact it regarding the technical problems so it can concentrate resources on restoring the service, and instead to follow the States of Guernsey’s social media channels for updates.

At the end of last week there was still thought to be 10,000 of the expected 36,500 personal tax returns for 2021 outstanding.

The 2022 return was due to be available from 8 March, with a filing deadline of 28 February 2024.

The Revenue Service said they will now be made available as soon as the problems accessing online returns through MyGov are resolved.

Long queue for paper returns

QUEUES at the tax office counter at Edward T Wheadon House stretched out into the stairwell yesterday, as the news of the tax deadline being put back was announced.

Many of the people queuing were submitting paper returns after encountering online problems.

Nobody spoken to by the Guernsey Press wanted to be named, but one said they had queued for 35 minutes to hand in the paper copy of their tax return.

‘I tried repeatedly to do it online and actually came down here last week to try and get some help but was turned away.

‘I then got a letter telling me I only had until tomorrow [7 March].

‘I ended up doing it on paper and coming here to give it in. They have one person just there to collect paper copies and give out receipts.’

Another frustrated taxpayer said: ‘After repeatedly trying to do it online, I completed it on paper and brought it down. The system really doesn’t appear to work at all.’

Others appeared to have encountered more serious hitches in the current system.

‘I got a cheque four weeks ago and now they have told me they want the money back,’ said one exasperated islander.

‘They have separately asked me for three different amounts.

‘I was here for an hour and a quarter last week and now I’m back again.’