COVID-19 Concerns about your financial situation?
HMRC have provided us with some guidance regarding the impact Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on some businesses particularly where they are unable to meet their rent and/or loan repayments to a pension scheme.
The duty of the pension Scheme Administrator and Trustees is to act in the best interests of the pension scheme members - even where the members are the same as the company directors.
We must retain evidence to demonstrate that dealings with connected tenants or borrowers are conducted in the same way as trustees would deal with unconnected tenants or borrowers.
Professional advice is normally required to support any agreement made.
In response to the financial impact COVID-19 is having on some businesses, HMRC have agreed to relax their requirements for RICS-qualified valuations. However, we do still require advice from the company accountant to verify the company’s financial situation, what the tenant/borrower is asking for in terms of suspended or reduced payments and for how long.
All trustees need to make a unanimous decision on how to proceed. A signed agreement will be required to record this.
We hope there could be some further leniency for businesses and we will keep you informed if HMRC provide us with additional guidance.