Cork Bonded Warehouse Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 21 June 2022
Neutral citation: [2022] UKFTT 215 (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
Cork Bonded Warehouse Ltd sought permission to bring an appeal out of time against an excise duty Assessment dated 26 March 2020. The tribunal applied the Denton/Martland three-stage test, found an eight-plus month delay caused by the agent’s inadvertent failure to open an emailed attachment, but concluded that this did not amount to a good reason. Permission for the late appeal was refused.
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: high
The tribunal applied the Denton/Martland approach: (1) quantify the delay, (2) identify and assess the reasons for it, and (3) balance all relevant circumstances with particular weight to the efficient conduct of litigation and compliance with rules; an adviser’s inadvertent failure to open an attachment (even considering pandemic-related home-working) did not constitute a good reason to allow an eight-month late appeal absent exceptional supporting circumstances.
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 noted that the existence of a related stayed appeal covering the same facts can be a factor in favour of permitting a late appeal because of overlapping disclosure and limited additional burden on the respondent; it also observed that absence of deliberate misconduct or a genuine intention to pursue the appeal are not necessarily positive factors unless they amount to more than merely the absence of negative conduct.