Appeals, disputes and investigations
Late appeals totalling over £800,000 refused
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has refused permission for a taxpayer to file a number of late appeals. The reasons he gave for being unable to deal with the appeals did not stand up, as he had been running a business throughout the period.
The taxpayer appealed closure notices, amendments, assessments and penalties for deliberate behaviour, failure to provide information, failure to file tax returns and late payment, totalling £875,623 without interest.
He argued that none of the decisions were notified to him. HMRC had sent letters to the address he had given as his home, but in fact this was his accountant’s home. The taxpayer had chosen to give that address to allow the accountant to deal with letters. When HMRC discovered that this was not the taxpayer’s home, when checking before starting enforcement proceedings, letters were thereafter sent to the taxpayer’s home.
The FTT found that the taxpayer had been validly notified, so the appeals were not prevented from being late in that way. The taxpayer did not say that he had not received the decisions, and it was likely that they had been passed on to him. He had not proved that he was not notified.
The FTT also dismissed the taxpayer’s excuses for late appeals, including issues relating to his health, as not reasonable. There was no reliable evidence that the issues had prevented him from making the appeals, as he had continued to run his business throughout.
The FTT refused permission for any late appeals.
Milhill v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 919 (TC)
From Tax Update August 2025, published by S&W Partners LLP
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