Sarah Manzi v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 24 June 2024
Neutral citation: [2024] UKFTT 563 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
This appeal concerned HMRC discovery assessments and Schedule 41 penalties for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) for 2014/15–2019/20. The Tribunal found the assessments for 2014/15–2017/18 were out of time and allowed the appeal for those years, but the 2018/19 and 2019/20 assessments were in time and upheld; interest remains payable. The Tribunal also found Mrs Manzi had an objectively reasonable excuse (ignorance of the requirement coupled with contemporaneous HMRC advice to do nothing) and discharged the penalties.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: medium
The decision indicates two primary ratio points supported by the findings: (1) a discovery made by one HMRC officer can validly lead to a delegated assessment made by another officer so long as internal delegation arrangements are complied with; and (2) specific, contemporaneous advice from an HMRC representative in response to a taxpayer’s enquiry can amount to an objectively reasonable excuse for failure to notify chargeability, affecting the applicability of extended assessment periods under s.118 TMA.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal observed that the absence of contemporaneous telephone logs in the bundle was a significant evidential omission that limited HMRC’s ability to challenge the taxpayer’s account, and it reiterated that it has no discretion to disapply statutory interest once an assessment stands.