No special rules for companies in liquidation

Mr Uddin was the sole shareholder of Kazitula Ltd which ran a restaurant. HMRC raised assessments and penalties on the company on the basis that sales had been suppressed. Soon afterwards the company went into creditors’ voluntary winding up. HMRC issued personal liability notices on Mr Uddin against which both he and the liquidator appealed. However these were late by more than a year. HMRC refused to accept the late appeals and the First-tier Tribunal upheld this decision.

The taxpayers appealed to the Upper Tribunal. Mr Uddin claimed he had been misled by his adviser and the company said the First-tier Tribunal had failed to take into account the practical difficulties that arise when a company goes into liquidation and so reached an unjust result.

The Upper Tribunal said first that having read the First-tier Tribunal’s decision it was clear that it had considered Mr Uddin’s case....