BCMS have just been alerted to the fact that HMRC have made some changes to the way that Government Gateway (GG) users authenticate. This means that if a keeper has their CTS Online enrolment on the same GG account as an HMRC service, the keeper will be asked to enter a validation code (6 digits) before they can proceed to the CTS Online service.
The validation code is being sent to a mobile number that is registered to the keeper on their HMRC account. The keeper will be shown the last four digits of the mobile number which in many cases will be theirs. However, this mobile number may be out of date or belong to a person who does the keeper’s tax on their behalf e.g. accountant or family member etc.
If so, the keeper may have to update their telephone number in their GG user profile or contact the person with access to their GG account to ask them to add their telephone number to it so they can receive the verification code. Once the verification code has been received and entered, the keeper will be able to select an option to ‘Remember me for 7 days’ during which time the keeper will not be asked for another code as long as they are using:
· the same credential
· on the same device
· on the same browser
If they don’t select this option (and every 7 days if they do) the keeper will need to enter a new verification each time they enter CTS Online via the GG.
A message to this effect has been placed on CTS Online to alert keepers. Please see this document with screen prints to explain this process more clearly.
If the event that the keeper does not recognise the telephone number(s) listed or does not receive a code, they will need to contact the BCMS Helpline. BCMS will de-enrol the keeper from the GG account and re-enrol them to a new GG account which is not linked to HMRC.
The BCMS Helpline contact details are as follows:
BCMS Helpline English - 0345 050 1234
BCMS Helpline for all cattle keepers in Wales - 0345 050 3456