The number of penalties
issued to senior accounting officers by the HMRC has dropped from 148 to just
20 in the year to 31 March 2021, according to figures obtained by law firm
Pinsent Masons.
Jake Landman, a tax disputes
expert at Pinsent Masons, said that this was partly due to ‘HMRC diverting
resources to more pressing areas, such as furlough fraud’, but also because
HMRC is now ‘taking a more selective approach’ following the decision in Castlelaw (No. 628) Ltd & another v HMRC [2020] UKFTT
34 (TC), which confirmed that HMRC has discretion over whether to assess a
penalty for SAO breaches.
The number of penalties
issued to senior accounting officers by the HMRC has dropped from 148 to just
20 in the year to 31 March 2021, according to figures obtained by law firm
Pinsent Masons.
Jake Landman, a tax disputes
expert at Pinsent Masons, said that this was partly due to ‘HMRC diverting
resources to more pressing areas, such as furlough fraud’, but also because
HMRC is now ‘taking a more selective approach’ following the decision in Castlelaw (No. 628) Ltd & another v HMRC [2020] UKFTT
34 (TC), which confirmed that HMRC has discretion over whether to assess a
penalty for SAO breaches.
