20418
LONDON TRIBUNAL CENTRE				Reference No: LON/2007/1454

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								Appellant/Applicant

								Respondents

	LINDSAY SAIT SOLICITORS	Appellant

	- and -

	THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HER MAJESTY’S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS	 Respondents

	Tribunal: MISS J M POWELL (Chairman)
                                                                    MR P D DAVDA FCA				      

	Sitting in public in London on 24 October 2007

	DIRECTION
under Rule 30(8)

THIS APPEAL against a decision of the Respondents with respect to a Default Surcharge being a reasonable excuse appeal as defined by rule 2 of the Value Added Tax Tribunals Rules 1986 as amended coming on for hearing this day

AND UPON HEARING Mr Simon Chambers, Advocate, for the Respondents

AND THIS TRIBUNAL having heard this appeal under Rule 26(2) of the Value Added Tax Tribunals Rules 1986 as amended in the absence of the Appellant or his duly appointed representative and having announced its decision 

AND THE parties present at the hearing by their said representatives stating pursuant to Rule 30(8) of the Value Added Tax Tribunals Rules 1986 as amended that they do not require the said decision to be recorded in a written document in accordance with Rule 30(1) of the said Rules

THIS TRIBUNAL FINDS THAT the Appellant had no reasonable excuse for the late payment of VAT due for the period ending 31 January 2007; the effect of the sickness of the book-keeper was not explained in correspondence and it was clear that payment was able to be made by one of the members of the firm and on the day payment was made it would apparently have been possible for a same day payment to have been arranged so as to be made on the due date for electronic transfers.  It is regrettable that the review of the case by HMRC contained errors but these post-dated the event in question; notwithstanding this the Tribunal hopes that future reviews will not contain such errors of fact as occurred in this case.

AND THIS TRIBUNAL DIRECTS THAT this appeal is DISMISSED

AND that there is to be no direction as to costs

J M POWELL
	Chairman
	Release Date: 1 November 2007

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2007