The taxpayer submitted returns and paid tax late for all quarterly periods between July 2021 and October 2022 incurring default surcharges of about £6 000. The director Mr A claimed that he had a reasonable excuse for the late payments. This was because the company’s external accountants did not fulfil their duties to complete records and submit returns on time; he had suffered a family bereavement and his father had also been ill; and he had his own health issues to deal with.
The appeal was out of time so the issue was whether it could still be heard.
The First-tier Tribunal was ‘extremely sympathetic’ but said Mr A had not taken ‘reasonable steps’ to ensure that his accountant was ‘fulfilling the necessary duties’.
The legislation at VATA 1994 s 71 was clear that reliance on a third party cannot be accepted as a reasonable...
Please reach out to customer services at +44 (0) 330 161 1234 or 'customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk' for further assistance.
