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Trustee of the DE Britton Settlement (TC2524)
The trustee of a settlement appealed against a late-filing penalty in respect of a 2010/11 return. He said he posted it on 26 October. HMRC claimed they did not receive the document until 2 November.
The First-tier Tribunal referred to Interpretation Act 1978, s 7 and decided a first class letter would “in the ordinary course of post” be delivered on the following day – and an item mailed on 26 October would have arrived by 28 October.
The Revenue was unable to back its position: it produced no date-stamped letter, no log of receipts, and no statement from the supervisor of the receiving office.
The return was received on 28 October, the tribunal ruled, meaning it had not been late and no penalty was due.
The taxpayer’s appeal was allowed.
