The below update was sent by HMRC on 29th July 2020.

Updates on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Please remind employers in your constituency there will be changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) from 31 July.

What employers in your constituency need to do before 31 July

• Submit CJRS claims for periods ending on or before 30 June 2020 by 31 July 2020. This is the last date to make those claims. Employers need to have made a claim at any point on or before 31 July to be able to make a claim for future months.
• Amend previous claims to add any additional employees that may have been missed off in error. After 31 July they will not be able to add any new employees for periods ending on or before 30 June.

What employers in your constituency need to do from 1 August

• From 1 August 2020 the scheme will no longer fund employers’ National Insurance (NI) and pensions contributions. Employers will have to make these payments from their own resources for all employees, whether furloughed or not.

Coronavirus support schemes – helping claimants get it right 

Updated information for those who have claimed too much under the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS) or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is now available.

These were entirely new schemes and many businesses and individuals were coping with the most difficult circumstances they’d ever faced. We appreciate mistakes happen, particularly in these circumstances, including claiming too much.

We want to help claimants get it right, and they can now correct any mistake they’ve made without fear of a penalty if they notify us and repay the money on time. They can do this easily via their next online claim.

The deadline to notify us is the latest of the following:

• 90 days of receiving the CJRS money you’re not entitled to
• 90 days of when circumstances changed so that you were no longer entitled to keep the CJRS grant
•  20 October 2020 if you received CJRS money you’re not entitled to, or if your circumstances changed, on or before 20 July.

We have been clear that both schemes will attract criminals who will make fraudulent claims. We also know that opportunists may seek to inflate claims or make claims where they are not eligible. That’s why HMRC will be looking at CJRS claims where the amounts are significantly different to what we’d expect to see based on our monthly PAYE data. We are also working through the reports that we’ve received from the public into our Fraud Hotline.

But we know that this is not the case for the majority, and our priority is to support businesses and individuals at this challenging time. We are prioritising work to support our customers, while tackling serious fraud and criminal attacks. We understand mistakes happen, particularly in these challenging times, and will not seek out innocent errors and small mistakes for investigation, but rather help customers to put them right.

How employers in your constituency can let us know if they’ve claimed too much 

Employers can let us know if they’ve claimed too much as part of their next online claim without needing to call us.

If they have made an error and do not plan to submit further claims – or they have claimed less than they were entitled to – employers in your constituency need to contact us. This is also the same for those who have applied under SEISS.

Still time to register for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme

The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme opens to the public on Monday 3 August. The scheme allows registered restaurants, bars, cafes and other eligible establishments to offer a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed on the premises, up to £10 per diner, all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August.

Participating restaurants and other establishments will then be reimbursed for the discount they pass onto customers. It’s not just restaurants who are eligible – the scheme is open to all establishments that sell food for consumption on the premises; such as hotels, leisure centres and office canteens.

However, establishments cannot offer the discount if they have not registered for the scheme, which is why HMRC is urging businesses to sign up now to get the full benefit.

Further information about the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, including details of how establishments can register, is available on GOV.UK. HMRC is offering Eat Out to Help Out webinars to help businesses understand the scheme. You can also watch an introductory video to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme on the HMRC YouTube channel.

Open consultation: HMRC Charter

We are currently seeking views on our draft revisions to the HMRC Charter, which sets out the standards of behaviour and values HMRC aspires to when dealing with customers.

How we work with our customers is vitally important and the Charter outlines what you can expect from us and what we can expect from you. We’d like your views on the new draft Charter, if you haven’t responded yet there is still time to have your say. As a result of COVID-19, we have extended the consultation until 15 August 2020.

You can find out more about the consultation and how to submit your response on GOV.UK.

Open consultation: 2025 UK Border Strategy

We published a public consultation to invite businesses and industry to share ideas and evidence to help develop a 2025 UK Border Strategy. Our goal is for this Strategy to set out how we will transform the UK border into the world’s most effective and efficient by 2025.

The end of the Transition Period with the European Union provides the UK with the opportunity to design a future border that will deliver maximum benefit to the UK. A border that is more user-centric and streamlined than before, that helps businesses take advantage of new trading relationships around the world, whilst maintaining high-levels of security to protect the public, the environment and public health.

We welcome responses from stakeholders in all regions of the UK by the 28 August and we will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations to create a border that is fit for the future and benefits all the nations of the UK.

Guidance on VAT treatment of overseas goods sold to customers from January 2021

A new model for the VAT treatment of overseas goods will be introduced at the end of the Transition Period.  This will ensure that goods from EU and non-EU countries are treated in the same way and that UK businesses are not disadvantaged by competition from VAT free imports. The measure involves making online marketplaces liable to account for VAT for many of the sales that occur on their platforms.

The guidance has been published on GOV.UK.

Tax credits deadline: customers at risk of losing out

Tax credits customers have until 31 July 2020 to tell us about changes to their circumstances or income.

Customers whose circumstances have changed in the last year or who have received a letter to reconfirm their income details must contact HMRC. Failure to correct their details by the deadline may mean tax credits customers receive incorrect tax credits payments.

Customers who received an annual review pack or text and have already made their declaration, including confirming their income and circumstances, don’t need to do anything else.

If any information in the pack or letter is incorrect or incomplete, customers may have to pay back any tax credits that have been overpaid. They may also have to pay a penalty.

Renewing tax credits online is quick and easy. Customers can log into GOV.UK to check on the progress of their renewal.

Your constituents can get help and information on renewing tax credits:

• on GOV.UK
• using our webchat service on GOV.UK
• by tweeting @HMRCcustomers or posting on our Facebook page with general queries
• by using the HMRC App, available via your phone’s App store
• using the online forum (click on Tax Credits and You)
• by calling the tax credits helpline: 0345 300 3900

A word about scams 

Please remind your constituents to stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic and unthreatening. They can check GOV.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact and how to avoid and report scams. Suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC can reported to us by sending them to: phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. Texts should be sent to 60599.