ECP8210 - Reviews and appeals: Reasonable excuse legal provisions

Please see the guidance in CH160000 for the most up-to-date guidance on reasonable excuse.

The provisions for reasonable excuse are contained in Section 10 of the Finance Act 1994. There is no legal definition of what constitutes a reasonable excuse, and what may be acceptable for one trader may not be satisfactory for another.

The law provides that

• lack of funds to pay any duty due, and
• delay and / or inaccuracy by any person relied on to perform any task

are not reasonable excuses.