HM Revenue and Customs v Wilson
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 03 December 2008 |
| Date | 03 December 2008 |
| Court | Special Commissioners (UK) |
special commissioners decision
Theodore Wallace
Nicholas Branigan, of Special Civil Investigations, for the Applicant; the Defendant did not appear
Penalty determination - failure to comply with Taxes Management Act 1970 section 20s. 20 notice to produce copy tax return - TMA 1970, Taxes Management Act 1970 section 98 subsec-or-para 1 section 100Cs. 98(1)(b)(i), 100C - £300 penalty determined
A special commissioner imposed the maximum penalty on the taxpayer for failing to comply with a notice under TMA 1970, Taxes Management Act 1970 section 20s. 20 to produce a copy of his tax return where the taxpayer had failed to respond to the hearing notice or otherwise communicate with the tribunal and the Revenue had been entitled to the document requested.
The Revenue issued a summons under Taxes Management Act 1970 section 100CTMA 1970, s. 100C for a penalty under Taxes Management Act 1970 section 98 subsec-or-para 1s. 98(1)(b)(i) for failure to comply with a notice under Taxes Management Act 1970 section 20s. 20 requiring the taxpayer to deliver a copy of his tax return for 2004-05 not later than 27 October 2008.
The Revenue had failed to open an enquiry into the 2004-05 return within the time allowed by s. 9A(2). They were unable to locate the copy of the 2004-05 return originally submitted and wished to determine what was disclosed in relation to a loss of £2m claimed for capital gains tax purposes on the redemption of capital redemption bonds in that year. The figures from the return were extracted and entered manually on the computer but the additional comments box was not copied.
The tribunal had received no communication from the taxpayer whether in response to the hearing notice or otherwise but a letter was produced from his accountants referring to Taxes Management Act 1970 section 20s. 20 and contending that the tax return was not relevant to the liability or the amount of liability which exist independently of the return.
Whether it was appropriate to impose a penalty on the taxpayer.
The special commissioner (Theodore Wallace) (imposing the maximum penalty) said that a tax return contained "information relevant to - (i) any tax liability to which [the defendant] is or may be subject" so that the notice was intra vires. The return was needed so as to decide whether there were grounds for an extended time-limit assessment based on neglect. The fact that the Revenue received the original...
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