During his Budget 2021 speech back in March, the Chancellor told us that HMRC is setting up a new taskforce called the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce to crackdown on Covid fraudsters ...
HMRC is assuming that 5-10 per cent of CJRS claims are incorrect. This will range from innocent errors to deliberate fraud, which means there could be a £6.1 billion black hold in the public purse. They are currently looking at over 27,000 high-risk claims where it believes a serious error was made.
Arrests have already been made, with a couple from West Yorkshire being arrested over a £3.4 million CJRS fraud, although they were also charged with VAT evasion and money laundering at the same time. It's a positive step, but a mere drop in the ocean of that £6.1 billion overall. SEISS claimants are also being looked at, so HMRC is taking this very seriously.
I'd advise you to speak to your accountant first then disclose the error to HMRC as soon as you can. It's far better to take positive action than wait for them to contact you. And if you are contacted, don't bury your head in the sand, or the penalties could be much worse in the long run.
If you feel inspired to find out more about anything I've said here, do call me on 01908 774320 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.