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HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has rolled out a new disclosure service for companies that have inadvertently overclaimed research and development (R&D) tax relief and failed to amend their returns.
The move underscores the government’s intensified crackdown on misuse of the scheme, which reportedly cost the exchequer over £1 billion in missing revenues.
The initiative targets firms that may have overstated their R&D expenditure in good faith, rather than those deliberately committing fraud. It follows a surge in HMRC investigations into questionable R&D claims, with the tax under review reaching £641 million this year, according to the department’s annual report.
Generous by design, R&D tax credits encourage companies to invest in innovative projects. However, this same generosity has also attracted fraudulent activity and organised criminal efforts to exploit it, costing the Treasury an estimated £1 in every £4 of the relief in 2020-21.
Dawn Register, a tax dispute resolution partner at BDO, said: “There are also other disclosure routes available to companies looking to bring their tax affairs up to date. We’ve seen many unscrupulous ‘claims’ agents in the R&D market in recent years. If a company now realises its past claims were ‘speculative’, a voluntary disclosure is definitely the best course of action.”
Jamie Young
Jamie is a seasoned business journalist and Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops to stay at the forefront of emerging trends.
When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs, sharing their wealth of knowledge to inspire the next generation of business leaders.
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