SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 55Penalty for failure to make returns etc

Reasonable excuse

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(1)

Liability to a penalty under any paragraph of this Schedule does not arise in relation to a failure to make a return if P satisfies HMRC or (on appeal) the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal that there is a reasonable excuse for the failure.

(2)

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)—

(a)

an insufficiency of funds is not a reasonable excuse, unless attributable to events outside P’s control,

(b)

where P relies on any other person to do anything, that is not a reasonable excuse unless P took reasonable care to avoid the failure, and

(c)

where P had a reasonable excuse for the failure but the excuse has ceased, P is to be treated as having continued to have the excuse if the failure is remedied without unreasonable delay after the excuse ceased.