Bankruptcy order annulled due procedural irregularity

In March 2024 HMRC presented a bankruptcy petition against the applicant in relation to a substantial tax debt. The applicant explained that his accountants had recently submitted updated tax returns and he was waiting for HMRC to process them so he would know his tax liability. The court agreed to adjourn the hearing of the petition to give him time to settle his tax bill.

When the petition came to court in October the applicant was neither present nor represented. The debt was reduced and a bankruptcy order made against him in his absence. The applicant applied to the High Court to set aside a bankruptcy order claiming that HMRC failed to notify him of the adjourned hearing date. HMRC said that it had sent the notice.

Judge Burton in the Insolvency and Companies Court said that HMRC’s evidence of delivering the notice of adjournment ‘should not...