Due to the impact of COVID 19 on individuals and businesses around the country, HMRC has not issued a Late Filing Penalty for anyone who has been unable to file their 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment return by 31 January 2021 providing they did so by 28 February 2021.
HMRC recognise that due to the ongoing pandemic some customers and agents will still have difficulty meeting their filing obligation. They have advised that COVID 19 may be accepted as a reasonable excuse for any appeals made against a Late Filing Penalty for Self Assessment customers.
To make things easier for agents representing these individuals and businesses, we have introduced a route for agents to submit a bulk appeal for Late Filing Penalties, on behalf of their clients, where COVID 19 is being claimed as a reasonable excuse for late filing of the 2019 to 2020 SA return.
Information is available on recording these appeals. They should then be sent to the following address:
Bulk Agent Appeals, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1ZH.
• the template must only be used for 25 or less clients. If you need to submit an appeal on behalf of more than 25 clients, you should complete a second template
• each envelope you return using the above address should contain no more than one template of 25 or less clients. If you complete multiple templates, these should be sent in separate envelopes (max 1 template per envelope)
• all fields on the template should be completed – without this, we won’t process the appeal for that client
• this template must only be used where the return was not filed by 28 February 2021 due to COVID-19. If the penalty is subject to appeal on other grounds, please use existing channels (see below).
Appeals can still be completed via the current method; this new route is for bulk appeals only.
Appeals on behalf of one client should be filed using the SA370.
Please note that any appeals for a High Net Worth Unit case should be submitted via the normal route and should not be included on the attached template.
This service is only for a COVID-19 related reasonable excuse. HMRC reserve the right to carry out random checks to ensure the validity of the data or to seek further clarification as to the exact nature of the COVID-19 related reasonable Excuse.
This service will be available for a period of 6 months.
