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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
This decision deals with an appeal against late filing penalties (“the penalties”) visited on the appellant under Schedule 55 Finance Act 2009 (“Schedule 55”) for the late filing of individual tax returns for the tax years 2010/2011, 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2014/2015.
Details of the penalties which amount in total to £4,500 are set out in the table in the appendix.
The focus of the evidence, submissions, and this decision, is essentially whether the appellant had a reasonable excuse for failing to file those returns on time and whether there are special circumstances which warrant a reduction to the penalties.
For the reasons given later in this decision we have decided that the appellant has a reasonable excuse in respect of the penalty for 2010/2011. For the other penalties he has no reasonable excuse nor are there such special circumstances. And so, while we have allowed his appeal in respect of that penalty, we have dismissed it in respect of the other penalties.
- Heading
- INTRODUCTION
- THE LEGISLATION
- Special circumstances
- Reasonable excuse
- Reasonable excuse
- Special Circumstances
- THE EVIDENCE AND THE FACTS
- The tax returns were filed very late
- The fact that there was no tax liability in the years in which the tax returns were filed late, does not affect the validity of the penalties. This was made clear to the appellant in Judge Rankin’s de
- Similarly, we have no power to discharge or adjust a fixed penalty simply because we consider it to be unfair (see Hok Ltd v HMRC [2012] UKUT 363 (“ Hok ”) Reliance on an agent cannot be a reasonable excuse by dint of paragraph 23(2)(b) Schedule 55
- HMRC have not established that valid notices to file were served on the appellant
- Our view
- Conclusion
- Conclusions