Child Benefit back payments can be due for several people this month

HMRC wants a whole review of 23,500 claims by the end of next week. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is deciding to stop Child Benefit payments to nearly 23,500 claimants in an anti-fraud crackdown that that uses travel data to decide whether they had permanently left the country.

Britain’s tax authority expressed apologies “to those whose payments have been suspended incorrectly” and told immediate action has been taken to revise the procedure following inquires about the action. 

The tax authority under a pilot scheme to handle fraud and error in the system told in August that £17 million made in incorrect payments to several individuals who had moved abroad permanently was saved over the course of a year. It is anticipated to save around £350 over the upcoming 5 years. 

A new expert team has been utilising international travel data for tracking whether claimants have traveled abroad, leading to a loss of their eligibility for payments.

It is said that officials have started processing cases by using PAYE data to crosscheck how many authentic claimants have had their benefits stopped following claims that people were incorrectly assumed to have emigrated. 

HMRC wants to finish its review by the end of next week and, if ongoing UK employment is identified, will restore the funds and process the payments back as required.

Child Benefit is £26.05 worth each week or £1354.60 yearly- for the eldest or only child and £17.25 weekly or £897 yearly – for each additional child.

Around 78% were falsely identified in Northern Ireland as not having returned from trips abroad, and during the pilot, 129 families were noted as having departed the country when only 28 had actually left, as stated in the report. 

An HMRC spokesperson told: “We’re very sorry to raise whose payments have been suspended incorrectly.  We have taken immediate action to update the process, giving customers one month to respond before payments are suspended.