TC09600 - [2025] UKFTT 00919 (TC)

The case of Websons concerned an appeal by HMRC against an FTT judgment which had given Websons permission to appeal a VAT decision after the time limit. The relevant statutory provision required that the decision in question be notified to the taxpayer, see [41]. The UT said at [43] that “if, on the facts” the appellant had not been notified of the decision, time would not have started to run and “there would be no requirement to extend time to enable the appeal to be admitted”.

However, the FTT had not made any finding of fact as to whether the decision in question had been properly notified. By the time of the UT hearing, both parties had agreed that it was an error of law for the FTT not to make that finding. The UT said at [51]:

“We accept that the FTT made an error of law in failing to make any findings of fact as regards Websons’ contention that it had not been notified of the Review Decision. As our discussion of the relevant law illustrates, the FTT should not have proceeded on the assumption that the appeal was out of time without having established whether or not that was the case. The FTT gave no consideration to the relevant statutory provisions which establish when time starts to run for the notifying of an appeal in respect of a review decision and therefore clearly did not have those provisions in mind when making the Decision.”

The UT remitted the case back to the FTT to make the relevant finding, adding that it would also be appropriate for further evidence to be filed before that hearing took place.