In Christopher Michael Oddy v HMRC (TC03796 – 9 July 2014) the FTT allowed the taxpayer’s appeal against penalties for late filing of CIS returns.
Mr Oddy was registered under the CIS and had been issued a penalty for late filing. He disputed the penalty arguing that the return had been posted in good time. He was then issued several more penalties for late return. He demanded the production by HMRC of date stamped returns but never obtained them.
In its review letter HMRC explained that returns were logged on the day of receipt and suggested that the issue may be caused by Royal Mail. No reason was given for not providing date stamped copies.
The FTT noted that in the absence of evidence of the date of receipt of the returns HMRC’s assertions must be weighed against the appellant’s assertions. The FTT also found...