Covid and reasonable excuse for late payment

The tribunal case of Rada in Business (TC08268) deals with the impact of furloughed staff on timely payment (or submission) of VAT returns.

The only ‘excuse’ for late payment, in this case, was that the relevant member of staff needed to return from furlough and this was slightly too late. The tribunal did not see this as a reasonable excuse. It may not have helped that this was the third default, but the impression is that staff on furlough (save perhaps in the initial stages of the pandemic) is not to be treated as an excuse. 

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