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Heirtrace Ltd (TC2607)
The taxpayer appealed against fines for late payment of PAYE for every month in 2010/11. The managing director of the business claimed she was not aware of the new penalty system and had not received warning letters.
All correspondence went to her adviser whom she saw for only a few hours each month, to deal with the management accounts. The MD said she had had no contact with HMRC about late payments and if she had, she would have arranged to pay on time. She also denied having received information from the Revenue.
The First-tier Tribunal accepted the director’s statements about the lack of contact from the taxman and that she had no knowledge of the penalty regime. Ignorance of the law did not constitute reasonable excuse, but not receiving official material did.
The penalties for the first four months were cancelled; the others were confirmed.
The taxpayer’s appeal was allowed in part.
