You might also be interested in
Replies (8)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
Ouch!!!!
A couple of times I've only had formal authorisation to file on the day of the deadline, purely because of client inertia. In those circumstancs it's really tempting to submit them anyway, especially when i know the client is satisfied they are all correct. A £10,000 fine is a bit of a disincentive!
On the personal tax side I asked a client to confirm some income which she eventually did towards the end of June. By the time the return was completed and submitted she had a zero tax bill, but £720 of penalties. Somewhere in her mind I'm sure she will blame me, but we can't create the numbers out of thin air.
In situations like that I have submitted on thae basis of an email agreement from the client. It is fool hardy to submit without any agreement.
Situations like that....
what when you file tax comps for companies that aren't your clients?
I dont think that I would be filing tax for companies that aren't my clients. The main reason being I wouldnt get paid LOL! I was replying to the earlier comment re deadlines and I dont think I did it right. Oops
Corporate clients
There must be more to this than the article suggests but I surely the client in this case was Elite Communications UK Ltd.
The ICAEW seem to have involved themselves in a dispute between Mr Doogan & Mrs Sawyer, where all the poor sap has actually done was submit the return on the authorisation of someone who at least at some point, was authorised to do so.
There but for the grace of the gods, go us all. I bet Mr Veeder has an email on file and as much good it did him.
Mr Ahmedi was neither present in court or represented
What are the odds on the ICAEW collecting their costs of £2,850 ? Do they normally go through the courts in cases like this?
Commercial reality V Legal requirement
In this case the accountant should have known the situation with regard to his client and former client and the dispute between them.
In normal commercial situation would you stick to you guns to have the tax return signed before submitting it and incur heavy penalty for the client (although he may verbally tell you to submit it) or would you risk assess it and submit it with the full professional judgement that the return was correct based on the client's accounts and that in the case of serious error an amended tax return can be submitted.
Nihaal Singh