TC09594 - [2025] UKFTT 00893 (TC)

The appellant’s delay is at worst 586 days and best 62 days. These are both serious and significant.

There are no good reasons for this. The onus is on the appellant to invoke his appeal rights and not on HMRC; there were multiple trigger points which should have put the appellant on notice that he needed to notify a late appeal to the tribunal, yet he failed to do so in response to these; HMRC had never said they would not oppose the appellant’s application for permission to bring a late appeal; the Valentine’s Day letter was not an acceptance of statutory review, something which was clear from HMRC’s letter of 8 March 2023 which was received by both the appellant and BP; reliance on an agent cannot be a reasonable excuse.

The letter of 8 March 2023 does not extend any deadlines; it simply seeks clarification of what the appellant intends to do.

The appellant did not contact BP save in respect of the 8 March 2023 letter. It would have been reasonable for him to have made further checks on BP to ensure that they were on top of his appeal. This is especially the case given that the appellant is a solicitor.

HMRC would be prejudiced if I were to grant permission as this would divert HMRC’s resources away from cases in which appellants have appealed in time.