An individual who opted for ‘paperless’ contact with HMRC and argued that emails confirming that a notice to file a tax return had been posted on his online account were assumed to be spam and deleted was liable to late filing penalties.  

The appellant consented to receive paperless communications from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). On 6 April 2017, HMRC posted a notice to file a self-assessment return for the tax year 2016/17 to the appellant’s online account and sent the appellant an email stating that a new message had been posted on that account. The appellant filed the return on 29 October 2018. HMRC charged late filing penalties. The appellant appealed. 

The appellant contended that he did not expect to receive communications from HMRC because he had understood from a conversation with their helpline that he would not have to file a tax return. He