Pyrrhic victory in late appeal case

The taxpayer company provided ‘services to contractors in respect of their relationship with HMRC’. HMRC opened enquiries into the company’s returns covering several years and issued an information notice requiring details of bank accounts and of customers including names and a description of the work done. The company responded to HMRC explaining that it was unable to provide the information as the current owner did not have access to any records that predated April 2021. The letter concluded: ‘I believe that I have made reasonable enquiries and fully co-operated with you. If you disagree please explain how and on what basis you believe I need to do more.’ A formal appeal was not made.

HMRC issued penalties for non-compliance with the notice. The taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal expressed surprise that the taxpayer was not able to submit what would clearly be a notice of appeal. The judge...