Help with Tax investigations – SEISS

Have you received the grant under the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme? The SEISS

Did you consider whether you were entitled to it?

HMRC now have powers to target the self-employed taking grants and small companies that received grants of up to £25,000 to help them through the Covid19 crisis. If HMRC suspects that a business did not actually require a loan, or that a sole trader ceased trading soon after receiving money from the SEISS scheme, it will be able to put the burden on those investigated to prove otherwise.

This is a moot point in that clearly the SEISS rules allowed the self-employed to continue working as opposed to the furloughing rules and what degree your business was affected by the crisis may be a grey area? But did you continue to trade profitably without the need to claim help?
What is certain is as soon as HMRC have a foot in the door it is not just the grants and furloughing payments that will be under scrutiny!