Overview

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In order for a project to qualify for R&D tax relief the technological uncertainties faced cannot be “readily deducible by a competent professional”. This is fundamental to any R&D tax relief claim in order to ensure that there is legitimate industry wide technological uncertainty rather than a company solving something that may be uncertain to just itself. But what actually is a competent professional in HMRC’s eyes?

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A competent professional can be somebody who holds academic/professional qualifications and significant practical experience in the field (and sub-field in some cases!).

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Evidence that an individual is a competent professional in a field of science or technology can include:

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.       Years of experience working within the field

.       Relevant qualifications in the field

.       Industry awards/recognition in the field

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An example of a competent professional in a project where a company is developing advanced AI capabilities for processing very large quantities of data for the retail industry may be the following:

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·       Employee A, Senior Software Engineer, BSc in Computer Science and MSc in AI, 10+ years of working experience in the AI and data processing field.

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Competent professionals can either be employed by the company or work as a subcontractor/externally provided worker however, it is crucial when compiling an R&D claim that the competent professionals involved in each project have identified technological uncertainties and are seeking to technologically advance the industry baseline through the resolution of said uncertainties.

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So we’ve said what a Competent Professional is, but what isn’t a Competent Professional? Let’s say in that same project we have another employee:

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·       Employee B, Retail Manager, 20+ years’ experience in the retail space, Understands the different key data points in retail, BA in Business Management.

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Whilst Employee B may be able to contribute indirectly to the project through indirect supporting activities. Employee B cannot be considered a competent professional as they do not have the qualifications or experience in the underlying field of science/technology (Computer science and AI) to identify technological uncertainties.

It isn’t currently a requirement when submitting an R&D Tax Relief claim to detail the relevant experience and qualifications of the competent professionals involved however, Asquith Bradley always ensure that this information is presented in order to proactively address any potential queries from HMRC with regard to competent professionals.

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