.png)
.png)
TRM Electronics Ltd (TC2989)
The taxpayer company received a penalty for late submission of its 2011/12 employer annual return.
The firm claimed it sent the form electronically on 20 April 2012 and received an acknowledgement. HMRC said the return had been submitted in test mode only, and the receipt would have alerted the taxpayer to the fact.
The First-tier Tribunal said there was no evidence to show what had actually happened. Both sides accepted that a submission had been made on 20 April. The tribunal accepted on the balance of probabilities that it was in test mode.
But the tribunal could not make finding with regard to the message received by the taxpayer. The company suffered various staff problems two days after the submission, putting pressure on the remaining employees. The situation may have prevented the firm from checking the acknowledgement.
The unexpected staffing difficulties constituted reasonable excuse.
The taxpayer’s appeal was allowed.
