TC09633 - [2025] UKFTT 01096 (TC)

Fecha: 01-Jul-2025

Background and findings of fact

Background and findings of fact

We found the following facts which were not disputed:

(1)

The Appellant is a company which has been trading since 2014 and sells a wide variety of goods, including DIY products, gardening equipment and PPE.

(2)

Most sales are on-line but there is a trade counter that sells in person. In early 2020, orders for PPE started being received in numbers from China. This was a surprise because normally the appellant imported products from China rather than exporting products to China.

(3)

The business became extremely busy and it was necessary both to take on additional staff and from 1 March 2020 to pay extra salary to existing staff to retain and motivate them. Matters were particularly complicated for Mr Saleem at that time because the business was moving premises and Mr Saleem’s partner had recently had a baby.

(4)

In addition, some of the existing staff refused to come to work (for understandable reasons because of the pandemic) so Mr Salim had to furlough them and take on alternative staff to ensure that the business kept running. He was determined that it should remain operational since it was delivering vital PPE during a time of national crisis.

(5)

The Appellant made claims for CV Support Payments in respect of furloughed employees. These claims were accepted at the time by HMRC without question.

(6)

However, nearly two years later, on 14 December 2021, HMRC opened an inquiry into the claims. There followed an exchange of correspondence in which the Appellant supplied the information HMRC requested. Subsequently on 14 June 2023 HMRC issued the Assessments on the basis that the claims were excessive.

(7)

The Appellant appealed to HMRC in respect of the Assessments. The Appellant subsequently requested an independent review and a number of exchanges followed which culminated on 25 October 2023 with HMRC issuing a review conclusion letter (the “Review Letter”) varying the Assessments to the amount of £177,401.27 referred to at [5]. The Appellant then appealed to the Tribunal. The Appellant and HMRC attempted ADR but this was unsuccessful, hence the matter came before this tribunal.

(8)

The Appellant is a Real Time Information employer which made claims for CV Support Payments in respect of 15 employees.

(a)

Of these 11 were fixed rate employees in respect of whom the Appellant had claimed CV Support Payments using a reference salary which was not the reference salary shown on a “Real Time Information Return” (“RTI return”) made on or before 19 March 2020 whereas HMRC’s calculations used for the purposes of the Assessments were made by limiting the reference salaries to salaries shown on an RTI return made before 19 March 2020;

(b)

One was an employee who was not included on an RTI return made until 5 March 2021;

(c)

One was an employee first employed on 1 October 2020 who was not a fixed rate employee; and

(d)

Two others were employees who were not fixed rate employees.

(9)

The calculations in the Review Letter were correctly made.