Unnecessary costs due to administration failure

In October 2020 the taxpayer submitted an appeal concerning landfill tax. The appeal was allocated to the complex category and the taxpayer did not opt out of the costs regime.

In December the taxpayer applied for alternative dispute resolution (ADR). It did so on the basis that according to HMRC’s guidance no application for ADR could be made before lodging an appeal. The tribunal noted that HMRC’s guidance on this issue is contradictory stating both ‘you can apply for ADR at any stage of an enquiry and at any stage of the tribunal proceedings’ but then in connection with indirect tax disputes: ‘You can apply for ADR when HMRC has made a decision about an indirect tax and you have either: accepted our offer of a review – you must wait for the review to end appeal to the tribunal and have the...