Mr & Mrs Philip and Tracey Ithell v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Decision date: 3 March 2011
Neutral citation: [2011] UKFTT 155 (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
The Ithells appealed HMRC's cancellation of their CIS gross payment status after a series of late tax payments and an unsigned cheque. The Tribunal found HMRC could not prove delivery of the CIS308 cancellation notice and so had not complied with the statutory requirement to give prompt reasons for cancellation; the appeal was allowed and the cancellation set aside. The Tribunal did not decide whether the Ithells had a reasonable excuse or whether future compliance could be expected.
Ratio decidendi
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AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
The Tribunal treated as decisive that a statutory cancellation under s66(5) requires the taxpayer actually to receive the notice; where HMRC rely on having given such notice, the burden is on HMRC to prove delivery/receipt, and absence of proof of delivery renders the cancellation ineffective.
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 as points of practical guidance that HMRC should retain and be able to produce copies of computer‑generated cancellation notices and related correspondence, and that evidence about an agent’s or former accountant’s lack of knowledge of a cancellation may be relevant to inferences about receipt of notice.