G & Mrs L Kofteros v HMRC

In G & Mrs L Kofteros v HMRC (TC02692 – 20 May) a married couple appealed against surcharges relating to a substantial CGT liability contending that they had been seeking to raise funds by selling shares and had requested a deferred payment agreement. The First-tier Tribunal accepted their evidence and allowed their appeals. Sir Stephen Oliver found that HMRC had received the couple’s application but had failed to reach a decision and that the couple had ‘had reasonable grounds for expecting that a time to pay agreement would be reached’.

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Why it matters: FA 2009 s 108 provides for the suspension of surcharges where there is a deferred payment agreement. The First-tier Tribunal held that since HMRC had failed to respond to the appellants’ application for such an agreement they had a reasonable excuse for...