HMRC targets SEISS claimants Self-employed workers who wrongly took out government grants in the final weeks of a pandemic support scheme have been told to pay the money back or face penalties. The Treasury believes some claimants utilised the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) when they were either not trading to the degree to which they had claimed, or had ceased operating altogether. HRMC is informing those found not to have been entitled to the grant - or to have over-claimed - to pay it back within 30 days or face a penalty of 5% of the overpaid amount.