seiss eligibility

anniemay56

I am  selfemployed and last worked in March due to lack of work but hope to restart after the coronavirus is over.  Having claimed the first two SEISS grants , will i still be eligible  to claim the third one in November? What is meant really by actively trading ,will i be refused it as not currently working but obviously still selfemployed with no income.. 

Jeremy535897

Here is what we know at present:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921386/FINAL_SE_factsheet.pdf

Note the requirement "actively continuing to trade", or "currently actively trading", mentioned twice:
"The SEISS Grant Extension provides critical support to the self-employed. The grant will be limited to self-employed individuals who are currently eligible for the SEISS and are actively continuing to trade but are facing reduced demand due to COVID-19. Who is eligible?
To be eligible for the scheme, self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, must meet the following criteria:
• Currently be eligible for the SEISS (although they do not have to have claimed the previous grants)
• Declare that they are currently actively trading and intend to continue to trade
• Declare that they are impacted by reduced demand due to COVID-19 in the qualifying period. The qualifying period for the first grant is between 1 November and the date of claim

poppy12345

anniemay56 said:

 hope to restart after the coronavirus is over. 

That could potentially be a long time because it's not just going to go away overnight.

Grumpy_chap

What does the OP do that means they can't trade at all currently?  If the OP can do anything as a reduced level of work, they would be "actively trading".

macman

If you have no invoiced turnover in the last 6 months (i.e zero in the current tax year) then are you expecting to trade again before tax year end? If not, I'd say that your business is not actively trading.

Grumpy_chap

If the business (sole trader) is actively seeking new Clients, would that qualify as "actively trading", so make concerted sales effort and marketing?
What is reasonable to demonstrate the "actively trading" may depend on what field of business they operate in.

Jeremy535897

It is a question of fact, and there is no definition as such, but much case law. Where there are no transactions other than some expenses (as opposed to, say, the purchase of stock), it is probably the case that the person is not "actively trading".

macman

There are of course many businesses where turnover is highly seasonal and the bulk of trading is done in perhaps 3 months of the year?

Jeremy535897

macman said:

There are of course many businesses where turnover is highly seasonal and the bulk of trading is done in perhaps 3 months of the year?

No doubt, and if you normally make no sales at all in the other 9 months, you are not "actively trading" in those 9 months. That makes sense: you would earn zero income in those 9 months, so why do you need a grant to replace zero?

macman

Presumably because the OP's normal pattern of trading is not a seasonal one: I was just trying to define 'actively trading' in a seasonal context. For example, if you run a summer ice-cream kiosk in a seaside town, you might not even open it for 7 months of the year, but it can still be a viable business year on year.

Jeremy535897

macman said:

Presumably because the OP's normal pattern of trading is not a seasonal one: I was just trying to define 'actively trading' in a seasonal context. For example, if you run a summer ice-cream kiosk in a seaside town, you might not even open it for 7 months of the year, but it can still be a viable business year on year.

Yes, no problem with that, but you still are not "actively trading" in the period you do no work. I realise I had not typed what I meant in the previous post correctly, so I have amended it.