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First-tier Tribunal (Tax) |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> First-tier Tribunal (Tax) >> Dale Services Contracts Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2012] UKFTT 299 (TC) (03 May 2012) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKFTT/TC/2012/TC01985.html Cite as: [2012] UKFTT 299 (TC) |
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[2012] UKFTT 299 (TC)
TC01985
Appeal number: TC/2012/01482
INCOME TAX–construction industry scheme- application for registration for gross payment – late payment of corporation tax – whether reasonable excuse – "reason to expect" test – whether compliance record of shadow director relevant – cash flow issues – appeal dismissed
FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL
TAX CHAMBER
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DALE SERVICES CONTRACTS LIMITED |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HER MAJESTY’S |
Respondents |
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REVENUE & CUSTOMS |
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TRIBUNAL: |
JUDGE GUY BRANNAN |
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DAVID E WILLIAMS CTA |
Sitting in public at Bedford Square , London WC1 on 10 April 2012
David and Geraldine Tucker for the Appellant
Karen Weare, presenting officer, for the Respondents
© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2012
DECISION
3. The Appellant carries on a roofing and cladding business.
"The CT tax paid on the 1 July 2011 was delayed due to instructions given by ourselves as it was our belief that Cis taxes had been paid to cover this. We were unable to prove this is explained in our letter of 21 July 2011."
(1) If the Board of Inland Revenue are satisfied, on the application of an individual or a company, that the applicant has provided—
(a) such documents, records and information as may be required by or in accordance with regulations made by the Board, and
(b) such additional documents, records and information as may be required by the Inland Revenue in connection with the application,
the Board must register the individual or company under this section.
(2) If the Board are satisfied that the requirements of subsection (2), (3) or (4) of section 64 are met, the Board must register—
(a) the individual or company, or
(b) in a case falling within subsection (3) of that section, the individual or company as a partner in the firm in question,
for gross payment.
(3) In any other case, the Board must register the individual or company for payment under deduction.
-- paragraph 10: "the business test"
-- paragraph 11: "the turnover test"
-- paragraph 12: "the compliance test"
It was common ground that the "business test" and the "turnover test" are satisfied in this case. This appeal therefore concerns paragraph 12, ie whether the "compliance test" is satisfied.
16. The relevant provisions of paragraph 12 of Schedule 11 are as follows:
(1) The company must, subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), have complied with—
(a) all obligations imposed on it in the qualifying period (see paragraph 14) by or under the Tax Acts or the Taxes Management Act 1970 (c 9); and
(b) all requests made in the qualifying period to supply to the Inland Revenue accounts of, or other information about, its business.
(2) A company that has failed to comply with such an obligation or request as—
(a) is referred to in sub-paragraph (1), and
(b) is of a kind prescribed by regulations made by the Board of Inland Revenue,
is, in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations, to be treated as satisfying the condition in that sub-paragraph as regards that obligation or request.
(3) A company that has failed to comply with such an obligation or request as is referred to in sub-paragraph (1) is to be treated as satisfying the condition in that sub-paragraph as regards that obligation or request if the Board of Inland Revenue are of the opinion that—
(a) the company had a reasonable excuse for the failure to comply, and
(b) if the excuse ceased, it complied with the obligation or request without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.
(4) ….
(5) ….
(6) ….
(7) There must be reason to expect that the company will, in respect of periods after the qualifying period, comply with—
(a) all such obligations as are referred to in paragraphs 10 and 11 and sub-paragraphs (1) to (6), and
(b) such requests as are referred to in sub-paragraph (1).
(8) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), a company is not to be taken for the purposes of this paragraph to have complied with any such obligation or request as is referred to in sub-paragraphs (1) to (6) if there has been a contravention of a requirement as to—
(a) the time at which, or
(b) the period within which,
the obligation or request was to be complied with.
(1) The obligations and requests prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 4(3), 8(2) and 12(2) of Schedule 11 to the Act are given in column 1 of Table 3.
(2) The circumstances prescribed in which the applicant or company is to be treated as satisfying the conditions in paragraphs 4(1), 8(1) or 12(1) of Schedule 11 to the Act as regards each of the prescribed obligations are given in column 2 of Table 3.
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Table 3 |
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1 Prescribed obligations |
2 Prescribed circumstances |
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Obligation to submit monthly contractor return within the required period. |
(1) Return is
submitted not later than 28 days after the due date, and |
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Obligation to pay— |
(1) Payment is made not later than 14 days after the due date, and |
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(a) the amount liable to be deducted under section 61 of the Act from payments made during that tax period, or |
(2) the applicant or company— |
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(b) tax liable to be deducted under the PAYE Regulations. |
(a) has not otherwise failed to comply with this obligation within the previous 12 months, or |
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(b) has failed to comply with this obligation on not more than two occasions within the previous 12 months. |
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Obligation to pay income tax. |
(1) Payment is made not later than 28 days after the due date, and |
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(2) the applicant has not otherwise failed to comply with this obligation within the previous 12 months. |
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Obligation to submit a return under regulation 73, 74 and 85 of the PAYE Regulations (annual returns) within the required period. |
Return is submitted after the due date. |
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Obligation to pay corporation tax for which the applicant or company is liable. |
(1) Payment is
made not later than 28 days after the due date, and |
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Obligation to submit a self-assessment return within the required period. |
Return is submitted after the due date. |
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Obligations and requests referred to in paragraphs 4(1), 8(1) and 12(1) of Schedule 11 to the Act. |
The failure to comply occurred before the appointed day and was within section 562(10),564(4) or 565(4) of ICTA (conditions to be satisfied: minor and technical failures). |
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Obligation to make a payment under the Tax Acts or Taxes Management Act 1970. |
Late or non-payment of an amount under £100. |
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18. The final exception in Table 3 was added by Regulation 2 of the Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) (Amendment No 2) Regulations SI 2008/1282 with effect from 3 June 2008.
1) A person aggrieved by—
(a) the refusal of an application for registration for gross payment, or
(b) the cancellation of his registration for gross payment,
may by notice appeal ….
(2) The notice must be given to the Board of Inland Revenue within 30 days after the refusal or cancellation.
(3) The notice must state the person's reasons for believing that—
(a) the application should not have been refused, or
(b) his registration for gross payment should not have been cancelled.
(4) The jurisdiction of the tribunal on such an appeal that is notified to the tribunal shall include jurisdiction to review any relevant decision taken by the Board of Inland Revenue in the exercise of their functions under section 63, 64, 65 or 66.
(5) Where a person appeals against the cancellation of his registration for gross payment by virtue of a determination under section 66(1), the cancellation of his registration does not take effect until whichever is the latest of the following—
(a) the abandonment of the appeal,
(b) the determination of the appeal by the tribunal, or
(c) the determination of the appeal by the Upper Tribunal or a court.
27. Mrs Weare also submitted that the consequences of the loss of gross payment status could not be taken into consideration. She cited a decision of this Tribunal in John Grosvenor v HMRC Commissioners [2009] UKFTT 283 (TC) where Judge Staker said at paragraph 37:
"I further find that the consequences of cancellation of gross payment status is not relevant to the issue whether or not there is a reasonable excuse, and that the material before me discloses no other reasonable excuse for the late payments."
31. A helpful explanation of the concept of "reasonable excuse" can be found in S Webster v HMRC Commissioners [2012] UKFTT 8 (TC) where Judge Tildesley said (at paragraph 6):
"Reasonable excuse is not defined by statute. In considering a reasonable excuse the Tribunal examines the actions of the Appellant from the perspective of a prudent tax payer exercising reasonable foresight and due diligence and having proper regard for his responsibilities under the Tax Acts."
34. In Rowland v HMRC Commissioners [2006] STC SC D 536, the Special Commissioner held that in the context of section 118(2) TMA, reliance on a third party could give rise to a reasonable excuse. In Rowland , the taxpayer had relied on apparently incorrect advice from her accountants in relation to a complicated area of taxation. The Special Commissioner found that it was sensible and reasonable for her so to do, and that she had a reasonable excuse.
35. In Huntley Solutions Ltd v HMRC Commissioners [2009] UK FTT 329 (TC) the appellant relied upon an agent to provide straightforward information and documents to HMRC pursuant to paragraph 27 Schedule 18 to the Finance Act 1998. The agent failed to provide those documents because of overwork and personnel difficulties. The Tribunal requested written submissions from the parties on whether reliance on a third-party could be a reasonable excuse. Both parties accepted that reliance on the third party could amount to a reasonable excuse for income tax purposes (paragraph [25]).
37. In Giles Bushell v HMRC Commissioners [2010] UKFTT 577 (TC) Judge Hellier referred to the earlier Special Commissioners decision in Jeffers TC0337, where the President, Sir Stephen Oliver, had held that reliance on accountants did not constitute a reasonable excuse in the absence of any underlying cause. Sir Stephen Oliver said:
“17. The Code (i.e. Part X of TMA) does not qualify the expression “reasonable excuse” by, for example, ruling out reliance on another to perform a task such as making a tax return. The obligation to make the tax return on time is nonetheless the taxpayer’s. It remains his obligation regardless of the fact that he may have delegated the task of making the return to his agent. There may be circumstances in which the taxpayer’s failure, through his agent, to comply with, e.g, the obligation to make the return on time can amount to a “reasonable excuse”. To be such a circumstance it must be something outside the control of the taxpayer and his agent or something that could not reasonably have been foreseen. It must be something exceptional.”
38. Commenting on this passage Judge Hellier said (at paragraph is 56 – 57):
"It seems to us that reliance on an agent may be an excuse or a reason for non-compliance, but such reliance is normal and customary, and the statute cannot have intended such reliance to constitute a reasonable excuse in every case. It seems to us that it cannot be the intention of legislation to permit the reliance on a competent person who fails unreasonably to fulfil the task with which he is entrusted to absolve the principal in all cases.
We concur with the President when he said that to be a reasonable excuse the excuse must be something exceptional. In our view, in determining whether or not that is the case it may be necessary to consider why the agent failed (and thereby to regard the agent as an arm of the taxpayer). To give a simple example, if a return was given to someone to post, and that person failed to do so, the reasons for that failure will illuminate whether or not there is a reasonable excuse: if the messenger was run over by a bus the position will be different from the case where the messenger merely forgot."
39. In Research and Development Partnership Limited v HMRC Commissioners [2009] UKFTT 328 (TC) the Tribunal (Judge Brooks and Mr Miles) adopted a similar approach to that in Huntley. As in Huntley the issue was whether there was a reasonable excuse for the failure to provide information and documents under paragraph 27. The Tribunal held (at paragraphs 40 – 41):
"However, although we find that reliance on a third party can amount to a reasonable excuse, we accept the contention of HMRC that in determining whether a person has a reasonable excuse for failing to perform a particular task it is proper to have regard to the nature of the task.
The task in question in this appeal was the provision of documents and information which HMRC say is “straightforward and easily understood” and it is therefore not reasonable to rely on a third party with specialist knowledge to perform it."
40. In RW Westworth Ltd v HMRC [2010] UKFTT 477 (TC) (which concerned an appeal against cancellation of gross payment status under the CIS), the Tribunal said at paragraph 13 that: “In view of Mr and Mrs Westworth’s lack of experience and expertise in accounting, administration and tax matters we consider that it was reasonable for the Company to retain the services of a consultant”, and at paragraph 14 that “the Company had a reasonable excuse for the late PAYE payments”.
41. In Devon & Cornwall Surfacing Limited v HMRC [2010] UKFTT 199 (also an appeal against cancellation of gross payment status), the appellant company which had no knowledge of tax or VAT matters had relied on a company secretary to ensure compliance with tax obligations. However, various tax obligations were not complied with. The Tribunal found in that case at paragraph 20 that it had been “reasonable for the Company to rely on its secretary to comply with its tax obligations and it was this reliance which led to the failures to meet its obligations”. That decision concluded at paragraph 23, referring to Rowland v HMRC [2006] STC (SCD) 536 and other cases, that “reliance on a third party, such as the company secretary, can be a reasonable excuse in the direct tax context”. We would simply comment that in that case it must be open to doubt whether the company secretary was in fact a third-party.
42. The Westworth and Devon & Cornwall Surfacing decisions were considered by the Tribunal in Westbeach Apparel UK Ltd v HMRC Commissioners [2011] UKFTT 561 (TC). The taxpayer appealed against a penalty in respect of a failure to submit a PAYE return (P35) on the due date. The task been entrusted to an agent. The Tribunal said (at paragraphs 16– 17):
"16. The Tribunal accepts that in cases where highly specialised advice is required, a taxpayer may have no choice but to rely on the advice of a specialist. However, in cases where no specialist advice is required, the Tribunal does not consider that a taxpayer can be absolved of personal responsibility to pay taxes on time through incorrect advice received by a specialist.
17. The Tribunal considers that in general, preparation of P35 returns is something that does not require specialist tax advice and is generally capable of being done by any lay employer. It certainly does not require any specialist tax expertise to check whether or not a P35 return has or has not in fact been submitted.”
47. For these reasons, we dismiss this appeal.
GUY BRANNAN