Default Surcharge:  Return and Cheque posted on Sunday 29 June.  Due date 30 June.  No post office uplift at that post box that day.  No reasonable excuse.  Appeal dismissed.

EDINBURGH TRIBUNAL CENTRE

	ULTIMATE LEISURE (SCOTLAND) LTD	Appellants

	- and -

	THE COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS AND EXCISE	       Respondents

			Tribunal:	 (Chairman):  Mrs G Pritchard, BL., MBA., WS

Sitting in Edinburgh on Tuesday 27 April 2004

for the Appellants		Fraser MacIntyre

for the Respondents	Mr A McCue

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2004.

DECISION

This is an appeal against a Default Surcharge applied in respect of the quarter 06/03 on VAT of £9537.70 assessed for the quarter, at a rate of 10% amounting to £953.77.

Mr Fraser MacIntyre the Operations Manager of Ultimate Leisure (Scotland) Ltd represented the company and gave evidence and was credible.  Mr McCue represented the Commissioners.  Written evidence consisted of a bundle of documents numbered 1-36 provided by the Commissioners.  Where any reference is made to any page in said bundle it shall be treated as repeated here.  

From the evidence the following facts are found:

1.	In respect of the quarter 05/03 the due date of payment was 30/06/03.  
2.	The return and cheque were posted on 29/06/03.  This was a Sunday.  They were posted in a box in Pavilion Road, Ayr where there is no collection on a Sunday.
3.	The return and payment could not therefore be in the hands of the Commissioners as provided by Southend-on-Sea as provided by Regulation 40(6) of the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995. 
4.	There were no mitigating circumstances such as illness of a member of staff or other reason why the return and payment were posted so late as to be unable to arrive timeously.
5.	The Appellant had adequate funds to meet its commitment.  

In order to establish a reasonable excuse for late returns and payments, an Appellant must show good cause why the return and payment were posted late.  In this case normal procedures were adopted namely that the VAT return and cheque were posted a day before they were due.  The same post box is always used for the cheque and return.  The mistake here was that the date of posting was a Sunday when there was no uplift by the post office.  In these circumstances there are no grounds on which a reasonable excuse can be founded.  The appeal is therefore dismissed.  No expenses are found due to or by either party.

MRS G PRITCHARD, BL., MBA., WS

CHAIRMAN

RELEASE:  27 APRIL 2004

EDN/03/113