As at 16 June 2020, 443 cases listed for hearing before the tax
tribunal up to the end of August had been cancelled as a result of coronavirus.
Of those, 62 had been relisted with a further 223 in the process of relisting
and 53 having judicial directions for face-to-face hearings.
The figures, obtained by global law firm Bryan Cave Leighton
Paisner (BCLP) under a freedom of information request to the Ministry of
Justice, provide insight into the extent of the disruption caused by the
pandemic.
Of particular interest is the categorisation of cases since the
start of lockdown. In the period from 23 March to 16 June 2020, the tax chamber
heard 119 cases remotely, of which 14 were video hearings, 35 telephone
hearings and the remainder decided on the papers. In the following period to
the end of the year, 103 cases are listed with 34 video and 30 telephone
hearings, and 39 paper determinations.
Kate Ison, tax partner at BCLP, commented that the figures ‘reveal
the extent of the backlog the tribunal is dealing with as a result of the
pandemic’. Ison noted that ‘of the 119 cases that have been heard remotely from
the start of the lockdown until mid-June 2020, the vast majority were dealt
with on the papers’ and that ‘some positives may emerge from this; to the
extent that cases are appropriate to be determined on the papers, the tribunal
should continue to embrace this practice once the pandemic is over in order to
reduce the number of cases required to be heard in person. This would assist in
reducing delays before more complex cases were heard, thereby assisting
taxpayers to have certainty without unnecessary and prolonged delay.’
Allocation of cases to the default paper category should be of
little surprise, given the FTT’s Covid-19 ‘categorisation of cases’ practice
statement which set out that, until at least September 2020, appeals
against penalties of no more than £20,000 for late payment of taxes, and for
late filing of returns and other documents, would automatically be allocated to
the paper category. This is a tenfold increase in the previous threshold for
paper cases, designed to allow more cases to be decided on an ongoing basis
without the need for a hearing.
The chamber president had previously addressed media criticism
of the tribunal’s caseload directly, in a statement
(reported in Tax Journal, 20 May 2020) highlighting that the tribunal
was ‘open for business’ and dealing with appeals either on the papers or by
remote hearing, pointing out that the number of cases outstanding at the end of
March 2020 was lower than the equivalent figure for five out of the previous
six years.
As at 16 June 2020, 443 cases listed for hearing before the tax
tribunal up to the end of August had been cancelled as a result of coronavirus.
Of those, 62 had been relisted with a further 223 in the process of relisting
and 53 having judicial directions for face-to-face hearings.
The figures, obtained by global law firm Bryan Cave Leighton
Paisner (BCLP) under a freedom of information request to the Ministry of
Justice, provide insight into the extent of the disruption caused by the
pandemic.
Of particular interest is the categorisation of cases since the
start of lockdown. In the period from 23 March to 16 June 2020, the tax chamber
heard 119 cases remotely, of which 14 were video hearings, 35 telephone
hearings and the remainder decided on the papers. In the following period to
the end of the year, 103 cases are listed with 34 video and 30 telephone
hearings, and 39 paper determinations.
Kate Ison, tax partner at BCLP, commented that the figures ‘reveal
the extent of the backlog the tribunal is dealing with as a result of the
pandemic’. Ison noted that ‘of the 119 cases that have been heard remotely from
the start of the lockdown until mid-June 2020, the vast majority were dealt
with on the papers’ and that ‘some positives may emerge from this; to the
extent that cases are appropriate to be determined on the papers, the tribunal
should continue to embrace this practice once the pandemic is over in order to
reduce the number of cases required to be heard in person. This would assist in
reducing delays before more complex cases were heard, thereby assisting
taxpayers to have certainty without unnecessary and prolonged delay.’
Allocation of cases to the default paper category should be of
little surprise, given the FTT’s Covid-19 ‘categorisation of cases’ practice
statement which set out that, until at least September 2020, appeals
against penalties of no more than £20,000 for late payment of taxes, and for
late filing of returns and other documents, would automatically be allocated to
the paper category. This is a tenfold increase in the previous threshold for
paper cases, designed to allow more cases to be decided on an ongoing basis
without the need for a hearing.
The chamber president had previously addressed media criticism
of the tribunal’s caseload directly, in a statement
(reported in Tax Journal, 20 May 2020) highlighting that the tribunal
was ‘open for business’ and dealing with appeals either on the papers or by
remote hearing, pointing out that the number of cases outstanding at the end of
March 2020 was lower than the equivalent figure for five out of the previous
six years.
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