Penalty reduced

The taxpayer company encountered technical difficulties when trying to file its corporation tax return electronically for the period ended 31 March 2011. It submitted a paper return on 30 March 2012.

HMRC extended the filing deadline to 30 June 2012 saying the document had to be digital.

The business submitted the return as a PDF attachment by the new date but it was rejected because the accounts were not in the correct format. The taxpayer sent another paper return which was refused for not being electronic.

The Revenue imposed late-filing penalties of £200. The company appealed on the ground its 13 attempts to file electronically had failed because the tax department’s systems did not work. HMRC claimed the problem was caused by the taxpayer’s software.

The First-tier Tribunal accepted that the company had tried to comply by the extended deadline of 30 June – but the business...