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The taxpayer partnership which had filed its P35 employer end-of-year returns online and in good time for the years 2005/06 to 2008/09 appealed against a late filing penalty in respect of its 2009/10 return on the basis it had been sumbitted in April 2010.

HMRC claimed the return had not been received and as no message had been received by the partnership acknowledging receipt it should have known the return had not been filed successfully.

The First-tier Tribunal judge accepted the partnership genuinely believed that it had filed the 2009/10 P35 having kept a copy of it for its records.

She noted that when a return is filed the taxpayer will receive one of two messages: one saying the return has been successful or another noting that the return was rejected. No mention is made if no message is received and the...