EM4585 - Penalties: Failure to Make a Return for SA Years: Partnerships
TMA 70/S12AA(2)
TMA 70/S12AA(3)
TMA 70/S93A
Penalties under Schedule 55 FA09 for failure to file on time, see CH60000+, apply to income tax and capital gains tax returns for the year ended 5 April 2011 and later years. The returns for the year ended 5 April 2011 are those due to be filed on or before 31 October 2011, or 31 January 2012 if filed electronically.
The partnership return should be completed and delivered by the nominated partner EM7021. If there is a failure to deliver the return by the filing date, then S93A penalties are imposed on all relevant partners (that is all persons who were partners at any time within the period covered by the return). However, only the nominated partner can appeal against any penalty, though that appeal will be taken as an appeal against all partners’ penalties. See EM4563 on appeals generally.
£100 Fixed Penalties: S93A(2) & (4)
Where a partnership has been required by a notice to deliver a return and has failed to do so by the filing date each relevant partner is automatically charged with a fixed penalty of £100.
If the failure continues after the end of the period of six months from the filing date, a further fixed penalty of £100 is imposed on each relevant partner.
These penalties will normally be computer generated and will be imposed automatically provided the individual is linked to the partnership by an entry on the individual’s SA record. You should note the partner’s own record of the link if this has not previously been done, and check that a penalty is then automatically raised.
There is no reduction or “capping” available to partners comparable to that provided to individuals and trustees EM4562 where a partner’s tax/NICs liability is less than the amount of the fixed automatic penalties.
Daily Penalties: S93A(3)
Seeking a direction for daily penalties should be reserved only for large cases or where there is some pressing reason for ensuring early submission of the return. Such action should only be undertaken with the agreement of the authorised officer EM5322. Daily penalties are imposed on each relevant partner.
Daily penalty action may be appropriate more often for partnerships than for individuals and trustees because, for partnerships, there are limited sanctions to force delivery of returns. As there is no partnership liability you cannot make an ”HMRC determination” TMA70/S28C (although these could where appropriate be made on individual partners who had not submitted their individual returns).
You should follow the guidance applicable to individuals EM4570+.
There is no tax-geared penalty on a failure to supply the partnership return that goes beyond the anniversary of the filing date. There is no S93A equivalent of S93(5).