3. Mr Y complains HMRC did not contact him in April 2021 to tell him he was eligible to apply for the fourth SEISS grant.
4. Mr Y says his business was significantly affected by the pandemic. He says the SEISS payment would have reduced the financial strain he and his business experienced.
5. Mr Y would like HMRC to allow him to apply for the fourth SEISS grant.
6. Mr Y was not eligible for the first three SEISS grants because his trading profits for the tax years between 2016 and 2019 were more than the maximum threshold of £50,000. In March 2021 the Government announced a fourth SEISS grant, which allowed applications to be made based on 2019-20 tax returns. As Mr Y’s trading profits had reduced, he was eligible to apply.
9. Before we decide if we should investigate a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and, we have not found any signs that something has gone wrong.
10. In March 2020, after the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government announced financial support for the self-employed in the form of SEISS. The Treasury Directions said eligibility for the first three grants was based on tax returns for the years 2016 to 2019, and only those with average trading profits between nil and £50,000 qualified for grants. In March 2021 the Government announced a fourth grant would be available and said the criteria had changed so some people who were previously ineligible, would get support. The Treasury Directions were updated to allow applications to be made based on trading profits for the 2019-20 tax year, as long as the tax return had been submitted by 2 March 2021.
11. In December 2020 Mr Y submitted his tax return for 2019-20 showing a trading profit of around £40,000.
12. Mr Y says HMRC failed to contact him in April 2021 to tell him he could apply for the fourth SEISS grant. The Treasury Directions placed did not say HMRC must contact eligible customers to tell them about the changes. However, our principles say organisations should be customer focused and make sure customers are clear about their entitlements and their own responsibilities. We have therefore considered whether HMRC took reasonable steps to make sure Mr Y was aware of his eligibility for the fourth grant.
13. In its responses to Mr Y’s complaint, HMRC said it tried to contact as many customers as possible to invite them to apply for the fourth SEISS grant. It used a range of methods depending on the information it held, including text message, email, letters and alerts through the online portal. HMRC provided evidence it sent a text message to Mr Y’s mobile number on 9 April 2021 inviting him to apply for the grant. Mr Y says he does not remember getting that message. As HMRC has evidence it was sent and delivered, we consider it is likely the message was sent.
14. Mr Y believes HMRC should have contacted him by email rather than text message, and says it held a valid email address for him. While Mr Y may have preferred to be contacted by email, HMRC’s decision to use a different method is not evidence of a failing. As there is evidence HMRC did contact Mr Y on 9 April 2021, in good time for him to apply before the deadline of 1 June, we do not think HMRC did anything wrong or failed to be customer focused.
15. In its responses to Mr Y, HMRC said the changes introduced for the fourth SEISS grant were put on gov.uk. The changes were also widely publicised on TV, radio and on social media. Mr Y says as he had not been eligible for the first three grants, he had no reason to visit the website during the relevant period. Mr Y says he does not remember the media coverage at the time saying the eligibility criteria had changed, just that a further grant would be available. We have looked at the information that was available at the time. A brief online search found a number of articles on different newspaper websites and on the BBC news website setting out the changes introduced for the fourth grant. It was highlighted how people who had not qualified before, could apply for the fourth grant.
16. We recognise Mr Y’s business was affected significantly by the pandemic and understand the two years since have also brought financial difficulties. We know realise getting the fourth grant would have gone some way to ease those financial pressures. As HMRC sent Mr Y a text message about the fourth grant and made sure details of the changes were widely publicised, we do not think HMRC did anything wrong.
1. We have carefully considered Mr Y’s complaint about HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). We have seen no signs that anything went seriously wrong in the way HMRC communicated with Mr Y about the fourth Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant.
2. Mr Y says income from his business dropped significantly because of restrictions brought in during the pandemic. We can see the two years since the pandemic started have been very tough financially for Mr Y and his business, and recognise payment of the fourth grant would have helped to reduce the financial impact of the pandemic.