It will come as little surprise
that, once again, an HMRC online system crashed
an important time of year. This time it was
the self assessment online service that was
disrupted on 31 January 2008 and 1 February
2008.
In response to these problems, HMRC have announced
that any return (whether online or paper) received
by midnight on 1 February 2008 would be treated
as filed on time and so no penalty will be
issued.
In addition, where taxpayers experienced problems
with the service and were unable to file by
midnight on 1 February 2008, HMRC will remove
any late filing penalty and treat the return
as filed on time where the problems with the
HMRC service were the cause of the delay and
the return was filed within a reasonable period
afterwards.
In addition, penalty notices should not be
issued for:
- online returns filed using the HMRC software
on 2 and 3 February 2008; and
- paper returns received in local offices
by close of business on 4 February 2008.
Finally, where a return is filed within a
reasonable period and the delay was due to
the problems with the HMRC service, HMRC will
also remove the penalty for online returns
filed on 4 February 2008, or later, and
paper returns filed on 5 February 2008, or
later.
As previously mentioned, it is not unusual
for HMRC penalties to be issued in error. If
this is the case or if there is a reasonable
excuse for the delay in sending in the return,
penalties can be reduced or even waived altogether.
If you receive a penalty notice that you believe
is wrong, please get in touch with us as soon
as possible so we can resolve the matter for
you.
Internet link:
HMRC
advice |
