The Upper Tribunal ruled that the appellant, Gary Wagstaff, had acted negligently as a director in his failure to pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) payable by his management consultancy, Warehouse Holdings Limited (WHL).

Wagstaff argued that as a result of WHL falling into creditors voluntary liquidation (CVL), any liability to pay NICs at that date was frozen. He also said that the ‘normal time limit’ for recovery of NICs was six years, meaning that the personal liability notice (PLN) was issued after the expiry of the required period.

HMRC responded that entry into CVL on 20 November 2015 ‘stopped the clock running’ concerning any claim relating to NICs, meaning WHL remained liable for the NICs from the date the PLN was issued.

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