Josephine Mary Hayes v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 27 September 2024
Neutral citation: [2024] UKFTT 118 (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 case concerns Ms Hayes' application requiring HMRC to close an enquiry into her 2019/20 self‑assessment return, raising whether HMRC emails in Jan–Feb 2021 extended the statutory filing date and whether HMRC's informal information requests were unreasonable. The Tribunal held the emails did not clearly and unambiguously extend the filing deadline, that s.118(2) does not confer a general power on HMRC to extend statutory time limits (following Raftopoulou), and that HMRC had reasonable grounds to keep the enquiry open; the closure and disclosure (of third‑party tip‑offs) applications were 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
Communications suspending penalties do not by themselves extend statutory filing deadlines; an extension of the statutory date requires a clear and unambiguous grant of further time, and s.118(2) should not be read as conferring a general power on HMRC to extend statutory time limits where specific statutory extension powers exist.
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 using cross‑references to s.118(2) elsewhere in legislation may be a convenient drafting shorthand but does not alter the limited interpretation of s.118(2). It also observed that tribunals have case‑management powers to require disclosure, though their exercise in the context of HMRC confidentiality and third‑party tip‑offs involves policy considerations.