Appeals against penalty assessments

A person can appeal to the Tribunal against:

the imposition of a standard or daily penalty and
the amount of the daily penalty.

An appeal must:

be given to HMRC in writing
be given within 30 days of the date on which the penalty assessment was issued, and
state the grounds of appeal.

For appeals against an assessment of standard or daily penalties, certain procedural provisions relating to Income Tax appeals have been imported from Part V (Sections 44 to 59) of the Taxes Management Act (TMA)1970. These include:

Section 49, late appeals. If you are satisfied that the taxpayer had a reasonable excuse for making an appeal against a penalty assessment after the 30 day time limit, it can be admitted. If you are not satisfied, the matter can be referred to the Tribunal.
Section 54, settling appeals by agreement. Before an appeal is heard by the Tribunal, if you can agree the issue with the taxpayer, then the appeal can be settled on that basis.

In either of the above situations, or if the provisions of Part V of TMA 1970 are cited to you, advice may be sought from your appeals unit.