The case concerned an income tax appeal that was filed more than four months late.
The FTT considered that this delay was both serious and significant. The reasons for the delay were not good ones. Reliance on a professional adviser did not help in this case as there was nothing in the facts of this case to require an exception. The taxpayer did not show that HMRC had an obviously weak case.
The FTT noted that allowing the late appeal would have cost and resource implications for HMRC, though this prejudice to HMRC was “relatively minimal”.
The FTT also noted that if the late appeal was not allowed, the taxpayer “will lose the ability to challenge an assessment to tax that he says is not due, and that assessment is for a significant sum”. However, the FTT did not give this any particular weight.
In summary, the FTT was not satisfied that a late appeal should be allowed.
https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKFTT/TC/2022/TC08642.html
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In Tax Appeals – Law and Practice at the FTT, tax barrister Keith Gordon analyses some 500 precedents to show how the FTT rules are applied in practice, and how taxpayers may use the tribunal system for appealing against tax decisions.
