Revenue balks at compensation for most incorrect penalties
The Inland Revenue plans to refuse compensation claims lodged by accountants who claim up to 30% of their clients were saddled with penalty notices for self-assessment returns filed before the deadline.
Firms have contacted Accountancy Age to report a host of problems with the Revenue’s work. Some clients received rebates and penalty notices, some were fined for not paying in one tax district when they had paid in another, even deceased clients received penalty notices.
But the most common mistake was sending penalties to people who had paid before the deadline. KPMG estimated this happened to 20% of clients. Richard Murphy, Murphy Deeks Nolan senior partner, said 30% of clients were affected. But a Revenue spokesman said issuing a penalty to someone who had paid was ‘not considered a serious error’, and would not ‘as a rule’ merit compensation.