Reasonable excuse for late payment

The taxpayer attempted to pay his VAT bill for the March 2017 period on 5 May 2017 which would have met the deadline date of 7 May. However he encountered some technical problems logging on to his VAT account with HMRC. After a webchat and telephone discussions with HMRC’s technical support team a new ID number was issued although this turned out to be his original number. The taxpayer paid the VAT due on 16 May. He appealed against a 5% default surcharge issued by HMRC on the basis that he had a reasonable excuse for the late payment because of problems with the login procedures.

The First-tier Tribunal agreed the taxpayer had made every attempt to pay his VAT on time and allowed his appeal. The surcharge was cancelled.

Neil Warren independent VAT consultant said: ‘It is strange that this case reached the courts because HMRC...