In the wake of the pandemic, businesses have been given extensions for tax filing and company reporting, but there is still confusion between HMRC and Companies House deadlines. Crowe’s corporate tax partner Laurence Field calls for a more joined up approach
The confused mix of regulatory responses to the impact of Covid-19 on deadlines, while well intentioned could catch out a number of businesses. Being caught out can result in administration, hassle and even fines.
With 4.1m companies on the corporate register, that’s a potential for a lot of fines. At £100 per company, that’s a possible £400m in revenue. Companies need to be on top of the requirements and not assume that all government agencies are doing the same thing.
Covid-19 has meant that many businesses have had difficulties in completing their financial statements and getting them audited. The dislocation of finance staff, more pressing priorities, such as engagement with banks, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) or managing the furloughing process, along with a changing business environment, can result in the normal accounts preparation process slipping.
