SEISS

What is the SEISS?

The SEISS was introduced by the Government in March 2020, to help qualifying self-employed people (individuals and partnerships) to cope with any loss of income resulting from impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their business.

In all, there were five rounds of this grant, with the latest deadline for applications ending on 30 September 2021.

SEISS amounts received constitute taxable income and so must be shown on tax returns, with income tax as well as national insurance due on the amount.

Latest figures from HMRC show 9.1 million self-employed earners made use of the SEISS.

However, HMRC believe that a significant number of applications were made by individuals who either did not meet all the qualifying criteria, or who claimed amounts in excess of their eligibility.

Letters have already been issued by HMRC to notify individuals who they believe may have benefitted more than they should have done from the SEISS, and failure to repay any overpaid amounts within the specified time limit may result in penalty charges being levied by HMRC.

BBLS

What is BBLS?

Introduced in May 2020, the BBLS is a government backed loan scheme available to SME’s (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) whereby accredited lenders (including high street banks) would advance loans of between £2K and £50K to qualifying SME’s.

In order to quickly get the money into the hands of the applicant businesses, these loans were guaranteed by the Government so that the lenders did not need to carry out their usual levels of diligence before advancing the loans.

However, the Government is aware that in a number of cases, including some related to criminal gangs, false applications have been made, and in others the loans have not been used for the required business uses, but used to fund dividends to the directors or acquire personal assets.

In these circumstances, HMRC may take action to recover any loans from the directors personally, and we have already seen several prosecutions for fraud.

How we can help

If you are worried that you have made incorrect claims in relation to either the SEISS or BBLS, we can help you to review the position and, if necessary, make the appropriate disclosure to HMRC and thereby minimize any possible penalty charges.

Alternatively, if HMRC has already contacted you to suggest that there may be any issues in relation to SEISS or BBLS claims, we can help you to deal with HMRC’s enquiries in the most efficient manner and, again, to minimize any possible penalty charges.