Important Deadline for People Claiming under the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
It has come to our attention that HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) have sent this email out to some individuals who have claimed a grant under the SEISS: https://tinyurl.com/b4ww679w
If you have received this email it is not a scam & you need to respond by 22 March otherwise HMRC may open an enquiry into your claims &/or block you from claiming the two remaining grants that will be available later this year.
You will need to respond to HMRC by email to seisscomplianceteam@hmrc.gov.uk
HMRC will need to be provided with evidence that your trade has continued or that you intend to continue trading once Coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
HMRC have suggested that the following could be provided as evidence:
- advertising by the business.
- business receipts or sales invoices.
- contracts to provide goods or services.
- payments made through a business bank account.
If you have ceased trading since your last SEISS claim was submitted, that does not mean that earlier SEISS grants have to be repaid. As long as you were intending to continue trading at the time when you applied for the SEISS grant, then the ‘continuing to trade’ condition will have been met. HMRC accept that circumstances for many traders have changed since the last SEISS grant applications opened on 30 November 2020, which mean that it is no longer possible to continue to trade.
If you would like our assistance with preparing your response to HMRC, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our tax team on 01246 274121 option 2.