More on ‘Wrong code’

Prior to submitting my recent query Wrong code to Taxation I wrote to HMRC to argue against their refusal to allow relief under ESC A19. I pointed out that the first criterion to be met in deciding whether ESC A19 is applicable is that a taxpayer must reasonably have believed his tax affairs were in order.

My client previously had dealt with his own affairs so he did not have the comfort of having a tax adviser who would doubtless have confirmed whether his PAYE codes were in order. He believed his affairs were very straightforward and like many taxpayers relied on HMRC to get it right.

He believed that HMRC would have been in possession of all the information that they would have required to correctly assess his tax liability: his tax records would initially...