HMRC has added a facility to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims process which allows employers to declare over-claims of grants, and offset the excess grant claimed.

Where the employer has over-claimed the CJRS grant in an earlier claim they must adjust the amount claimed in the current claim, to take account of the amount of over-claim, and tick a box to say a correction has been made.

HMRC guidance states that the employer should keep records of the amounts of the CJRS claims, the claim period for each employee, the calculations and any corrections made, for six years.

The online correction facility only applies to over-claims of CJRS grants. If the employer has under claimed the CJRS grant due, then the employer should contact HMRC on the coronavirus technical line: 080 0024 1222. The HMRC officer will be able to put through a parallel claim for the extra grant due and provide a claim’s reference number during the call.

Where directors do not notify HMRC of the over claim of a CJRS grant, a penalty may be applied under the failure to notify rules, treating the error as deliberate and concealed. This would mean a penalty would be imposed at 30% to 100% of the overpayment if the employer voluntarily disclosed, or 50% to 100% of the overpayment where the disclosure was prompted by HMRC.

HMRC is expected to take a light-touch approach to penalties, and not penalise for genuine errors.