This was an appeal by an individual against a personal liability notice for a penalty imposed on a company he worked for.

Between 2013-2017, the appellant worked for a company called Newham Pizza Limited (‘Newham’), which operated a pizza franchise in East London.

Following an investigation, HMRC concluded that the takings had been suppressed and that Newham should have been registered for VAT from early 2014. HMRC imposed a penalty on Newham of £138,692.40 under FA 2008, Sch 41 (‘Schedule 41’) in respect of its failure to notify HMRC of its obligation to register for VAT.

As HMRC had been informed that an application had been made to strike the company off the Companies House register, HMRC also sent personal liability notices to Newham’s director, Mr Abdul Munaim and to the appellant, making each of them