CH26900 - Information & Inspection Powers: Penalties: Penalty assessments: Types of appeal and procedures
A person can appeal to the tribunal against
- the imposition of an initial or daily penalty, and
- the amount of the initial penalty (if this is assessed in an incorrect amount) or the amount of the daily penalty, and
- the imposition of a penalty for providing inaccurate information or producing a document that contains an inaccuracy in response to an information notice, and
- the amount of the inaccuracy penalty.
An appeal must
- be addressed to HMRC in writing
- reach us within 30 days beginning with the date on which the penalty assessment was issued, and
- state the grounds of appeal.
The appeal is treated in the same way as an appeal against an assessment to income tax except that
- the tribunal’s decision-making power is as set out below, and
- the due date and enforcement of the penalty is as set out in CH26880.
This means that the appeal can be settled by agreement between HMRC and the appellant. The HMRC appeal review procedure introduced by SI2009/56 applies to appeals against information notices, see the Appeals, Reviews and Tribunals Guidance (ARTG).
If the appeal cannot be settled by agreement (with or without a review) the person may notify their appeal to the tribunal. On hearing the appeal, the tribunal may
- confirm or cancel our decision to impose a penalty, and/or
- confirm the amount of the penalty or substitute another amount that we had the power to impose.