188体育

Statute does not otherwise define what a 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� is. You should consider all claims on their merits. Honesty of purpose is a preliminary condition that a customer always needs to fulfil. HMRC鈥檚 view is that whether a customer has a 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� depends upon the particular circumstances in which the failure occurred, as well as the particular circumstances and abilities of the customer who has failed in their tax obligations and that the customer put right the failure(s) without undue delay after the period of time the 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� existed came to an end. You need to establish all of the relevant facts, including

• the circumstances which led to the failure to submit the payment or return on time
• the extent to which appropriate preliminary work had been put in hand before the excuse prevented further progress
• at what date did the 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� start and end and what bearing do these dates have with the due dates of the obligations that have been missed, or the dates that the return(s) was due to be filed
• when the necessary steps were taken to remedy the failure after the excuse had ended.

You will have to establish how a failure occurred in order to decide whether the circumstances surrounding the failure provide the person with a reasonable excuse for the failure.

There are many different circumstances that may represent a reasonable excuse. Each case must be considered on its own merits and you need to take into account a person鈥檚 abilities, circumstances and experience.

The onus is on the person to satisfy you that they have a reasonable excuse. They must tell you the reason and you must consider the explanation carefully taking into account all the circumstances and available information.

In some cases it may be reasonable to seek evidence to support some or all of the person鈥檚 arguments. The circumstances of each individual case will determine whether you need supporting evidence and, if so, what that will be. You must ensure that any request for evidence you make is reasonable and proportionate.

When you have established all of the facts you will be able to compare this with the TTQT failures identified during the 鈥楺ualifying period鈥�, or the CIS Monthly returns that have been submitted late to see whether the period of the 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� coincides with the dates of the failures to make payments or send returns in on time and whether the claim of a 鈥榬easonable excuse鈥� may be accepted or not (see CISR81050).