PAYE7520 | Appeals and reviews: end of year penalty appeals: grounds for appeal
From HM Revenue & Customs · PAYE Manual
As the penalties are ‘automatic’ the grounds for a successful appeal are limited and can be summarised as follows
No employer’s annual return was required
If there are no employees / sub contractors for whom a return is required under PAYE Regulations, the Subcontractor Regulations, the Social Security Regulations, or the Tax Credit Regulations
The amount of the determination is the wrong multiple of £100 because the wrong number of employees / sub contractors or wrong number of months has been used in calculating it
There was a ‘reasonable excuse’ for not making the employers annual return on time
Some examples of what might be considered reasonable excuse are given at (PAYE7545)