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In order to encourage more digital interaction, HMRC are sending additional digital correspondence such as e-mail reminders, to customers who have ‘opted in� and have supplied their e-mail address.

To enable customers to verify that the e-mail is genuine, HMRC e-mails will include the departmental logo and the customer’s full name, and only contain a general reminder to take action, for example, file a return or pay an outstanding amount of tax, or a notification about a change or event, for example, that a payment has been made. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp customer would then access his online account to obtain more detail.

Emails from HMRC will never contain

• Financial information such as details of outstanding payments or tax refunds
• Active links to the customers accounts, log-on pages or i-forms
• Active links to sites outside HMRC or Gov.uk
• Any attachments

When digital outputs have been issued, the customers� record will show, for example, that a statement has been issued, but will not show whether the statement has been issued on paper or digitally.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp table below shows when outputs became available digitally

Date	Form	Form number
June 2014	Statements	SA300
30 July 2014	Exit letter	SA251
01 September 2014	Repayment notification	R1000(CS)
3 December 2014	Notice to complete a tax return	SA316
3 December 2014	Reminder to file a tax return/pay outstanding tax	SA309A, SA309C
14 February 2015	Strongly worded reminder	SA359
18 February 2015	Penalty letters	SA326D, SA328D, SA370, SA372-30, SA372-60

Note: In December 2014, no paper reminders to file or pay outstanding tax (forms SA309A, SA309C and SA309E) were issued. Customers who had ‘opted-in� received digital reminders and additionally, e-mail reminders were issued to unrepresented customers who had filed previous returns online.

Non-delivery of digital output

Where a customer has opted for paperless contact, HMRC will deliver the relevant document, or `Notice to file a tax return�, digitally to their secure mailbox in their Online account and, at the same time, an e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address the customer provided, to advise the customer to check their mailbox for new messages.

If the e-mail is not delivered successfully, Online Services will be notified and will re-send it. If it fails for a second time, the customer will automatically be de-registered from paperless contact and any future letters or `Notices� will be issued on paper.

In such cases, the original SA316 (Notice to file a tax return) sent to the customers secure account, is deemed as ‘undelivered� and SEES letter SA3 (which advises the customer that they have been de-registered from digital contact) will be issued together with a paper SA316 (Notice to file a tax return), using function RECORD DATE OF CLERICAL ISSUE, to show

• »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp date action is being taken
• That it is a ‘Not Failure to Notifyâ€� case, and
• »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp tax year involved

Where the digital output was a SA316 (Notice to file a return) an SA Note will also be made which says ‘Digital SA316 returned as undelivered. SA3 and SA316 issuedâ€�. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp customer will then be given 7 days and 3 months from the date of that action to file the return.

If the customer subsequently re-registers for digital contact and provides an up-to-date e-mail address, digital communications will recommence.

Note: Digital notices, including a Notice to file a tax return, are deemed to have been delivered when HMRC has sent an e-mail message to the customer, and posted the digital information to the customers secure mailbox, and HMRC knows, and can prove, the e-mail has not ‘bouncedâ€�. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp customer does not have to have read the e-mail message and/or the digital content for it to have been `deliveredâ€�.