Ms K Lomas v HMRC

In Ms K Lomas v HMRC (TC02010 – 13 June) a woman (L) submitted her 2009/10 tax return on paper on 17 January 2011. HMRC imposed a penalty and she appealed contending that the penalty was unreasonable because she had not realised that she was required to submit a return until she received a letter from HMRC on 10 January informing her of this. She had telephoned HMRC on the same day and had received a paper return in response to that telephone call. The First-tier Tribunal accepted her evidence and allowed her appeal. Judge Geraint Jones observed that HMRC had ‘given no explanation as to why one of its personnel should have offered to send out a paper return when on its case the deadline for using a paper return had expired and thereafter only online filing would be acceptable. Similarly...