HMRC demanding £200 owed from 2014

[Rufus Stone]

Can they do this, is there no statutory time limit? This is the first correspondence on the matter.

I'm certain nothing is owed but a loathed to have to spend the time proving it.

The entity that supposedly owes it no longer exists.

Failing a deadline that applies to then, can just claim all records have now been destroyed to comply with data protection?

[Rufus Stone]

They claim it's PAYE owed by the employer. Some of it is interest from 2014.

[Rufus Stone]

paulrockliffe said:

You have a statutory obligation to retain all of the records relevant to your returns there is no end date on that, so it's curtailed in practice by the legal limit on investigation. The time limits are different for different taxes, as if the office for tax simplification sits there doing nothing, but if an investigation into the last X years records uncovers a criminal matter then that brings 20 years of records in scope.

So I wouldnt go the GDPR route as destroying the records is an offence in itself, a more serious issue than the £200.

It's six years, not for ever.

https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/compa...

[Rufus Stone]

MustangGT said:

If this is the case, why are they pursuing you? They would be going after the company. If you can show that the company deducted the tax correctly then you have no debt to HMRC.

Because I was involved with the entity HMRC claims owes the PAYE tax.

I am trying to avoid the work having to prove nothing is owed.

[Rufus Stone]

StevieBee said:

Was the entity a limited company?

No, a pension scheme.

[Rufus Stone]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Have you received this notification as an email or a letter?

Letter.

[Rufus Stone]

MustangGT said:

How were you involved with the pension fund?

Also, you say PAYE, that would indicate you were in receipt of a pension where you paid PAYE. If so, same point applies.

Are they chasing you, as an individual, or you as an officer of the pension fund?

They are chasing the entity that no longer exists. They may not know that though.

Unless deliberate there appears to be a six year deadline and it's well past that. I think I'll write back and point that out and advise them the entity no longer exists too. Hopefully I will never hear from them again.

[Rufus Stone]

Panamax said:

Seriously, I wouldn't argue with HMRC over £200. Quicker, cheaper and easier to just pay it.

Normal time-frame is 6 years but they can go back as far as they like if they suspect fraud etc. I wouldn't even want to start thinking about that for £200.

That's probably what they are hoping.