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	United Kingdom VAT & Duties Tribunals Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom VAT & Duties Tribunals Decisions >> Solution Seekers Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2008] UKVAT V20817 (03 October 2008) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKVAT/2008/V20817.html Cite as: [2008] UKVAT V20817

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20817

DEFAULT SURCHARGE – Reasonable excuse – Death of close relative – Appeal dismissed

LONDON TRIBUNAL CENTRE

SOLUTION SEEKERS LTD Appellant

and –

THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HER MAJESTY'S REVENUE & CUSTOMS Respondents

Tribunal: SIR STEPHEN OLIVER QC (Chairman)

SUNIL DAS LLM, ACIS

Sitting in public in London on 17 September 2008

The Appellant was unrepresented

Mrs Gloria Orimoloye, for the Respondents

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2008


 


DECISION

1. Solution Seekers Ltd appeals against a default surcharge for the 01/08 period. The surcharge is composed at the 10% rate and amounted to £150.76.
2. The return and payments were due to be made on 29 February 2008. Payment was received by HMRC on 25 March 2008.
3. No one attended to represent Solution Seekers. A letter, received from a Dr Miran Singha dated 16 September 2008, explained that he was unable to attend the hearing and put in a request that the hearing should go ahead in his absence. We understand that Dr Singha is one of the two directors of Solution Seekers. We decided to accept the request and to hear the appeal in the absence of any representative for Solution Seekers. Rule 26 of the Tribunals Rules applies. This means that Solution Seekers can apply to the Tribunal, within 14 days for the release of this decision, to have the decision set aside on such terms as are just in all the circumstances.
4. Dr Singha wrote to HMRC on 14 April 2008 explaining the circumstances behind the late payment of VAT for the 01/08 period. In this letter he stated that he was the person who normally undertook submission of VAT. He pointed out that his father had died on 1 October 2007 and that he had been involved in matters to deal with the funeral, burial and memorial until well into February. He went on to explain in the letter that he had not expected his father's death and therefore had not made any contingency arrangements. At the time, it was explained in the letter, Dr Singha's co-director could not have taken on the task of making the return and paying the tax because he had been busy, attempting to gain new business to maintain Solution Seekers' work stream. There had been no one else on hand to transfer the compliance work to.
5. In approaching this we note that HMRC had waived the default surcharge that had been imposed in respect of the 07/07 period on account of the illness of Dr Singha's father. Dr Singha had explained, in relation to that letter, that his father had been seriously ill for some time and had died recently. The response of HMRC on 4 October 2007 had, as noted, been to waive the default surcharge for that period but also to advise Solution Seekers to make alternative arrangements to ensure that the VAT returns and payments were submitted by the due date.
6. We note that the date of Dr Singha's father's death was 1 October 2007; that was five months before the last date for payment of its VAT for the 01/08 period. We express our sympathy for Dr Singha's bereavement, but we think that the five months period since Dr Singha's father's death gave Dr Singha and his co-director sufficient time to make alternative arrangements to ensure that the return and payment were made on time. It is significant that Dr Singha signed the return for the 10/07 period on 26 November 2007. That was within two months of his father's death. It is also significant that the turnover of Solution Seekers for the 01/08 period was shown as £9,655. This does not reflect a high amount of activity and, despite the fact that the co-director was seeking to gain new business, there must have been time to arrange compliance during the first few months of 2008.
7. For all those reasons we are driven to reject Solution Seekers' claim that it had a reasonable excuse. The appeal is therefore dismissed.

SIR STEPHEN OLIVER QC

CHAIRMAN

RELEASED: 3 October 2008

LON 2008/1483