Tag Archive for Law

Small businesses who missed first tax return deadline spared HMRC fine

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
HMRC is dismissing fines for around 120,000 businesses who missed the first Making Tax Digital deadline on August 7.
A significant one in four businesses failed to file on time, meaning that HMRC could have issued tens of millions of pounds worth of fines. Officials said that they wouldn’t issue the penalties because businesses are ‘fully focused’ on exiting the EU come October 31.
Fines sit between £100 and £400 (linked to the gross turnover of the business) but the Government did say back in February that there would be a “light touch” approach to penalties, but this is the first time no fines have been issued.
The move comes amid a series of leniency measures to help businesses ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit.
MTD bothersome for businesses
HMRC said that it wanted to help businesses transition into Making Tax Digital, supporting the 490,000 companies with sales above the VAT threshold of £85,000 who were due to file by August 7.
Though some missed the deadline, nearly a million businesses registered for MTD beforehand and 900,000 VAT returns were successfully submitted through the service.
Deputy CEO of HMRC, Jim Harra, said: “We are very pleased that nearly a million

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Strong Customer Authentication is complicating online payments

Originally written by Iain McDougall on Small Business
What is Strong Customer Authentication?
SCA or “Strong Customer Authentication” is a major piece of e-commerce regulation that is being introduced across Europe on September 14 2019. From this date, every time a consumer buys something online that costs over €30, simply plugging their details once will no longer be enough. Instead, they’ll need to additionally confirm their identity by something they know (a PIN or password), something they have (such as a smartphone), or something they are (biometric facial features or a fingerprint). This is known as two-factor authentication and has been around in various forms for a while – think about those situations where putting your username and password isn’t enough, for example when you’re sent a six-digit code to input via SMS.
In real terms, however, this means that from September more than 300 million ordinary European consumers will regularly have to change the way they buy online, introducing an extra layer of friction at the checkout for everyday transactions.
SCA will mean all European shoppers will have to double authenticate all online payments over €30 – having profound implications for how businesses handle online transactions. It’s set to be big as GDPR,

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Six in ten workers haven’t had GDPR training despite tomorrow’s deadline

New figures out today have revealed that six in ten office workers haven’t been given training on how to deal with the new GDPR regulations despite new rules coming in tomorrow (25th May 2018). Almost half of those polled also admit they don’t think all data in their organisation was secure yet. Office product specialist
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Less than a third of companies feel ready for the GDPR

Less than a third of companies think that they are ready for GDPR ahead of the deadline on 25th May. New research from Apricorn shows that many businesses are not confident that they’ll meet compliance standards – 81 per cent could think of an area where they might fail. Half of organisations who know that the GDPR
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Government delay on GDPR data leaves businesses fearing fines

The government delay on accrediting GDPR certification bodies means that thousands of firms have no idea if they could be hit with millions of pounds in fines for non-compliance. James Pressley, corporate and commercial solicitor at Kirwans law firm, says that businesses needed to know that their efforts have made them General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
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Deliveroo claims victory in self-employment case

Deliveroo riders have been ruled self-employed by labour law body the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The test case was brought against the delivery company by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) . The IWGB said the ruling showed a majority of Deliveroo riders wanted workers’ rights and union recognition. But the CAC found
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Recovering debts set to get tougher under new rules

New rules set to be introduced next month that are designed to speed-up the resolution of financial disputes and debt recovery, could result in claims in fact taking even longer, says a commercial dispute resolution legal specialist. The new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims goes live on the 1st October 2017, and is the latest
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Large organisations placing IT security demands on SME suppliers

CybSafe, the behavioural science based cyber security e-learning platform, today reveals that enterprise level organisations are increasingly assessing protection during supplier contract negotiations. The GCHQ-accredited software platform, based in renowned Canary Wharf connected community Level39, conducted a survey of SME decision-makers to assess how their enterprise customers approach cyber security during the tender and RFP process.
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GDPR could cripple business, say UK firms

A global study from Veritas Technologies reveals 86 per cent of organisations worldwide are concerned that a failure to adhere to the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could have a major negative impact on their business –including nearly 20 per cent — or one in five polled — who fear that non-compliance could put them out
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Running a small food business: Essential health and safety information

When you’re running a small food business for the first time, whether it’s a kiosk, a café or a restaurant, you’re going to need to know how to handle, store and serve the food that you sell. In conjunction with EU law, it’s important that you understand and know the 14 allergens list so you
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