A delay of 42 days in submitting an appeal against an SDLT assessment was considered to be both serious and significant, but on balance, the First-tier Tribunal was prepared in the circumstances to exercise its discretion to permit the appeal to be brought out of time. 

On 15 January 2021, the applicant purchased a property in Hampshire, and stamp duty land tax (SDLT) was paid on the basis that the full consideration was for a residential property. Subsequently, the transaction was reviewed by a firm of tax specialists (C), who concluded that the property had been misclassified. On 1 April 2021, an amended SDLT return was submitted to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the applicant’s behalf, pursuant to which it was claimed part of the purchase price (attributable to 12 acres of mature woodland) should have been reclassified as non-residential property for SDLT purposes. 

Following an enquiry, HMRC amended the amended return, such that