The appellant’s appeal against penalties for the late filing of a tax return was allowed as he had been registered for self-assessment by an employment agency without his knowledge.

The appellant was issued with a notice to file a self-assessment return for the tax year 2016/17 on 21 April 2017. The return was filed electronically on 23 August 2018. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) assessed late filing penalties (under FA 2009, Sch 55) amounting to £1,300. The appellant appealed.

HMRC contended that the appellant registered for self-assessment on 6 March 2017 by submitting a form SA1. HMRC’s computer records indicated that the appellant had declared on the SA1 that he was a company director as of 31 October 2016. However, at the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) hearing HMRC was unable to produce a copy of the form SA1 submitted, nor a computer record of the actual entries.