HMRC fraud enquiries expected to soar as furlough finishes

Mid-market businesses should prepare for a flood of letters from HMRC as furlough draws to a close and the government looks to recoup a suspected £7bn of fraudulent or erroneous coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) claims according to Grant Thornton UK LLP.

HMRC is moving through the gears now that its taxpayer protection taskforce is up to strength after a recruitment drive to hire more than 1 200 investigators since March. The department is understood to be conducting around 30 000 checks as it shifts from a stance of focusing on compliance and support to one of stricter enforcement. 

A survey carried out earlier in the year for Grant Thornton of 605 mid-market businesses found that of those surveyed who had made use of the scheme just under a fifth (16%) had not reviewed their initial CJRS claims...