In Shepherds Bookbinders v HMRC (TC03641 – 28 May 2014) the FTT held that a flat rate penalty imposed for the delivery one day late of an SDLT return had been validly imposed.
The deadline was a Sunday and so the appellant argued that it had not been ‘possible or realistic’ to file the return then.
The appellant claimed that he had a reasonable excuse. A member of staff had forgotten to file the return and he had taken it home with the intention of filing it on the Sunday. However he had been unable to gain access to the internet. The FTT rejected the argument as ‘leaving matters to the last moment was a recipe for disaster’.
Referring to Hok [2012] UKUT 363 the FTT also explained that it did not have jurisdiction to decide on the fairness of a penalty.
