No reasonable excuse for agent’s blunders
The first tier tribunal has upheld late filing penalties issued to John Pettitt [TC07451] which stemmed from his tax agent’s failure to correctly register as a new agent.
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I'm a bit bemused. In the case of JSP it looks as though they weren't registered as agents with HMRC at all (and so no agent login etc.) but what was stopping the old agent filing the Return. There's no requirement to be authorised for SA, so easy peasy (or, indeed, any old agent could have submitted for the price of a few beers).
Sounds like incompetence in the new firm, and a failed attempt to trying to shift the blame to HMRC.
Agreed - looks like a 'start-up' over-reaching themselves.
That said, it is doubtless the case that 'guidance' from HMRC was couched in abstruse terms.
Furthermore, in recognition of the opaque nature of the potage of tax regulations, one of HMRC's indicators that taxpayers are taking reasonable steps to conform thereto is that they take 'expert advice' (recognition, imho, that standard rational Joe Public cannot possibly engage advantageously with HMRC) .
This is what [I expect] the taxpayer thought he was doing.
To then turn round and imply that the taxpayer should be gainsaying his hired 'expert' seems to me to be capricious at best.
No doubt a reduced fee for this service ?
And what's the expression about paying peanuts ................
I would think the taxpayer has a clear case to sue the agent for negligence now . The agent clearly doesn't know what they are doing as you can file a return electronically without registering an agency if you have all of the client's details and their approval to do so. I see no need for people to attack HMRC on this one ... it was late and I think the judge made the correct call . I do however think the late filing penalties are way over the top and need reviewing . Maybe to a maximum of the tax due plus the initial £100 fine so that those who do not owe any tax anyway - probably because of low income - do not get hammered with up to £1,900 in fines they cannot afford to pay .
Sue the agent ... indeed.
You make the point that folk exist on low margins ["... probably because of low income..."].
Legal cost for prep and submission will easily exceed £5k.
The reality is that out of the situations where someone deserves to be sued only a miniscule proportion can actually happen - and even then it is in the natute of the UK legal system that the complainant has an extra hurdle as the system prefers 'an out of court settlement' which, of course, in the eyes of the complainant is settlement and not justice.