An application by the taxpayer to be allowed to make a late appeal against the refusal by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to accept or process his tax returns to displace discovery assessments was struck out by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), as it did not have jurisdiction in respect of HMRC’s refusal to accept and process tax returns. In any event, there was no statutory provision allowing a discovery assessment to be displaced by a tax return.  
 
Background 
 
The appellant was in business as a shop proprietor since 1996/97 or before. For most years since and including 1996/97, HMRC sent the appellant notices to file (in the form of blank tax returns).  However, the appellant generally did not send completed tax returns to HMRC or pay any tax. 
 
Having failed to elicit information or returns from the appellant, HMRC subsequently issued discovery