ESS – electronic sales suppression – is where a business uses a tool to either hide or reduce the value of individual transactions on its electronic sales records, either at, or after, the point of sale.

The ESS tool is a piece of software, computer code script or hardware. HMRC have issued a document on this subject and have introduced a disclosure system for use between 6 January and 28 February 2023 which might lead to reduced penalties for disclosing it, rather than waiting for HMRC to “discover” the use of such tools.  

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compliance-checks-electronic-sales-suppression-ccfs68

Please contact us if you believe you may be affected or are using such products. A common example is where funds not recorded in sales are routed to an offshore bank account.