Inglorious advisers

Late application for enhanced protection

In July 2003 the taxpayer decided to take early retirement. His company paid a large one-off payment into his pension fund adding considerably to its value.

A claim for enhanced protection should have been made April 2009. It was not until February 2014 that the taxpayer and his advisers noticed that this had not been done; the claim was submitted in December. HMRC refused the claim and the taxpayer appealed on the ground he had reasonable excuse for the late claim.

The First-tier Tribunal found that the taxpayer had relied on his advisers who had previously given him good advice. When he realised there was a problem he contacted the adviser to ask what actions could be taken. The tribunal said this was a reasonable step for him to take. However the adviser took a couple of months to respond and ...