UT (Tax & Chancery) UT-2024-000098 - [2025] UKUT 00247 (TCC)

HMRC’s original SEISS guidance was published on the government website (www.gov.uk) in March 2020. This edition was in force from 26 March 2020 until 12 May 2020. HMRC’s SEISS guidance on eligibility, as it stood on 12 May 2020, included the following statements:

“Who can apply

You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:

-

have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19

-

traded in the tax year 2019-20

-

are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19

-

intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21

-

have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19

Your self-employed trading profits must also be less than £50,000 and more than half of your income come from self-employment…”

This guidance reflected, albeit in different order, the eligibility criteria in paragraphs 4.2 (a), (c), (d), (f) and (g) of the Schedule to the First SEISS Direction.

HMRC’s guidance on eligibility for SEISS was updated on 13 May 2020 – the day on which the online portal was first opened for individuals to make SEISS claims (and five days before the Respondent made his First Claim). It provided as relevant:

“Who can claim

You can claim if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and all of the following apply:

- you traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted your Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year

- you traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020

- you intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021

- you carry on a trade which has been adversely affected by coronavirus

…

You should not claim the grant if you’re a limited company or operating a trade through a trust.

To work out your eligibility we will first look at your 2018 to 2019 Self Assessment tax return. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non trading income.”

[emphasis added]

HMRC therefore had added to its guidance on 13 May 2020 the material and express direction as underlined above regarding the non-eligibility of claims made by limited companies.