Partnership return dispute

Reasonable excuse for allegedly late return

The taxpayer a partnership was alleged by HMRC to have submitted its return late. The department imposed late-filing penalties against which the partnership appealed.

Its agent said the return had been submitted by post before the 31 October deadline for paper returns. They said the partners’ individual self-assessment returns which had been filed online by the 31 January deadline had included partnership losses and paid the class 4 National Insurance contributions. Therefore HMRC had never been deprived of tax due and had information about the partnership.

Further the agent had not received HMRC’s reply (of 30 May) to their letter of 28 March asking whether the Revenue would like a duplicate copy of the return.

The First-tier Tribunal decided all parties were ‘honest’. It accepted the partnership posted the return in time for the deadline but that it was lost...