SolvedCH402702 | Charging Penalties: establishing penalty behaviour: evaluating evidence: relevant information
From HM Revenue & Customs · Compliance Handbook
The person’s abilities and circumstances (inaccuracies only)
When considering if reasonable care was taken, you must take into account the particular abilities and circumstances of the person.
You may need to consider:
the person’s health and age
how much relevant experience or what relevant qualifications they have, see CH81120
if a person taking reasonable care would have known what to put on the return
if any estimates were a reasonable (albeit flawed) attempt to get the right answer
if a person taking reasonable care would have known that certain claims were not available to them, or that certain incomings or outputs were taxable
if this is a one-off transaction
if they are represented, see CH81130
if it should have occurred to them that they needed to take advice
whether they followed any advice that was given
The person’s compliance history
You should check all relevant databases. The information we hold may include details of:
whether returns have been filed and payments made on time
previous penalties charged
suspended penalties
previous inaccuracies, failures or wrongdoings where no penalty was charged
advice given about correct tax treatment
advice given on improvements to record-keeping needed
The type of business and the nature of the inaccuracy, failure or wrongdoing found
It may be possible for your evidence to include a reasonable inference of deliberate behaviour based on certain factors in a case that led to that conclusion. Factors could include:
Characteristics of the business, its trading activities and the documents and records held or missing. General guidance about specific business activities can be found in TIPS
The nature of and pattern of the inaccuracies, failure or wrongdoing identified. Some inaccuracies, such as patterns of cash extraction from a business by their nature are highly unlikely to have occurred carelessly
The person claims an inaccuracy was the result of another person supplying false information to them or withholding information (Sch1A, Sch24, FA07)