Mrs H Paneser v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Facts

Mrs H Paneser appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) against a surcharge imposed by the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for the late payment of income tax for the tax year ending 5 April 2009. Her paper return was received on 20 October 2009 and processed on 9 November 2009, following which a tax calculation was issued showing a liability of £8,934.99, and a statement of account was sent on 6 December 2009 to her agents, Messrs SZ Khan and Co, showing £8,934.98 payable by 31 January 2010. HMRC's case was that the tax had arisen largely from a capital gain on the sale of a property. The appellant's case was that she had received a letter from HMRC stating that her payment on account for 31 January 2010 was nil, which had confused her; had she known tax was due, she would have written to HMRC before the deadline explaining that she had lost her job and needed time to pay. She said she was on Jobseekers Allowance with no benefits paid and depended on her husband. A hearing listed for 17 May 2011 was adjourned when she failed to attend because of a bad back, and Judge Gandhi directed her to file evidence of her financial difficulties and loss of employment, and any correspondence with her accountant about the balancing payment, at least 14 days before the next hearing. She filed nothing and did not attend the resumed hearing.