According to UK media reports the tax authority HMRC has decided to write off the GDP 100 penalty for late filing of the individual tax return for 890,000 people. This decision reportedly relates to the individual income tax returns for the year to 5 April 2014 which should have been filed by 31 January 2015.
The penalties are reportedly being written off in cases where the taxpayer has submitted an appeal against a penalty notice and has put forward a reasonable excuse for the delay in submitting the tax return. In previous years each appeal has been examined in detail to assess if the excuse offered by the taxpayer is reasonable. It appears that this process has involved intensive use of resources and this year HMRC is accepting appeals without that detailed examination if the excuse offered by the taxpayer conforms to general criteria.
At this point HMRC has not confirmed the media reports. HMRC is however expected to make a statement on the position in due course.
