Employment intermediaries’ filing obligations

HMRC imposed penalties on the taxpayer for failing to file employment intermediary returns for three tax quarters. Employment intermediaries that make payments to agency workers must submit quarterly returns to HMRC listing the payments on which no PAYE or National Insurance has operated. The taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal allowed the appeal. This was because HMRC could not show that a ‘real life officer’ had made the penalty determination. Referring to TMA 1970 s 100 ‘determination of penalties by officer of board’ the judge said an authorised officer was a real officer not a computer nor HMRC. Despite giving the department time to provide the name of the officer who determined the penalties it was unable to do so. On that basis the judge concluded no real life officer had made a determination. The ‘stark admission’ that HMRC’s computer systems automatically issued penalties suggested no...