HMRC starts furlough fraud checks Shipleys Tax Advisors

HMRC have started to open compliance checks into employers’ Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims after sending thousands of “nudge” letters earlier this year advising them that they may need to repay amounts received.

In today’s Shipleys Tax brief we look at what this means and what you should do if you are contacted by HMRC. If you have received correspondence from HMRC and require advice on an investigation or to appeal a penalty assessment, you should seek tax advice as soon as possible to understand your tax position and take necessary action.


What is the compliance check or tax investigation?

The compliance check starts by requesting very detailed information on every employee for which furlough monies were claimed. The letters will not necessarily be sent to the employer’s agent, as not many businesses have an agent for employment tax matters in the same way as for their corporation tax/income tax returns.   

The letter gives a short timescale to provide the information to HMRC. If HMRC issues a formal information notice to obtain the data (if it is not provided in response to the informal request, and there is no ‘good reason’ for the delay – this may detrimentally affect the investigation and potentially increase any CJRS penalties charged. 

The compliance check starts by requesting very detailed information on every employee for which furlough monies were claimed. 

The type and severity of the investigation is completely dependent on the facts of any individual case. HMRC have a specialist unit looking into these claims and you safely assume they will link with other employer compliance units to get the full picture.

It is strongly recommended that you consult a tax lawyer as soon as possible to receive detailed advice on how to take control of the situation and negotiate with HMRC.
 
What is CJRS/furlough fraud?

There are many ways in which a business could commit furlough fraud or abuse of the CJRS, for example:

  • Getting a furloughed employee to return to work as a ‘volunteer’ without pay
  • Not paying employees the full amount received from HMRC
  • Failure to inform staff that they have been furloughed
  • Not paying employees the full amount received from HMRC
  • Incorrect calculations and errors in furlough claims
  • Employers making backdated claims in periods in which the employee was working
  • Employers pretending to hire staff shortly prior to the qualifying period to take advantage of the payments.

It is strongly recommended that you consult a tax lawyer as soon as possible to receive detailed advice on how to take control of the situation and negotiate with HMRC.

What happens if you were not entitled to claim furlough?

If you are found to not have been entitled to the grant in the first place, or have used the funds inappropriately, the payments can be clawed back by way of a 100% income tax charge regardless of whether the claim was made innocently or deliberately.

As such, HMRC will be able to assess the tax due (and thereby impose the clawback) within four years after the grant was made in the case of an innocent error, six years if the error was careless, and twenty years if the claim was fraudulent.

In cases of serious fraud, HMRC may involve the police and prosecute. This might be using legislation which allows the indictment of a company for the facilitation of tax evasion even if senior management was unaware of the offence, unless reasonable preventative measures were in place.

Businesses are therefore required to notify HMRC if they know (or discover) that they have received a grant to which they were not entitled. Penalties and interest will apply for failure to notify and to the repayment clawback.

Expert Tax Investigation Advisers

If you need HMRC Tax Investigation advice, we have experts that are available to aid you at every stage of the HMRC investigation process. Members of our investigation team are ex-HMRC and have first-hand experience and knowledge of the internal workings of HMRC. Our team specialises in successfully challenging HMRC decisions and will assist you in every aspect of the investigation.

If you are affected by any of the issues above and would like more information, please call 0114 272 4984 or email info@shipleystax.com.

Please note that Shipleys Tax do not give free advice by email or telephone.