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The taxpayer applied to make a late appeal against an assessment. HMRC had refused. An invalid appeal had been sent within the deadline.
The taxpayer, who lived abroad, said he had mental health problems which made it difficult for him to review official correspondence. Further the Covid-19 pandemic had had a severe affect on him. It had also caused problems on the postal system.
The First-tier Tribunal said a generic pandemic excuse was not a good reason for the delay. The appeal, which was made by the taxpayer’s professional adviser, was seven months late which was ‘serious and significant’. There was no evidence ‘to demonstrate any specific circumstances or detailed effects of the pandemic that gave rise to this delay’.
The tribunal decided not to grant the taxpayer permission to appeal out of time.
