Permission to make late appeal

The taxpayer applied to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to make late appeals to HMRC against amendments to his self-assessment tax returns and penalty determinations for the tax years 2008-09 to 2013-14. HMRC opposed the application on the basis that the appeal was more than two years’ late.

HMRC had begun enquiries into the taxpayer’s affairs in 2013. It issued assessments for the above years in February 2016 and then penalties in March 2016. The taxpayer objected to the penalties in April 2016 to which HMRC responded in June. In another letter in November HMRC noted the taxpayer had not made formal appeals.

The First-tier Tribunal decided the taxpayer’s letter of April 2016 satisfied the requirements of a notice of appeal to HMRC against the penalty determinations although it had not been sent within the 30-day time limit. However TMA 1970 s 49(2) permits a late appeal if...