MICHAEL EAMES v Revenue & Customs (NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS - personal liability notice)

NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS - personal liability notice - whether neglect attributable to officer - yes - appeal dismissed

Ms Vicary, counsel, instructed by the General Counsel and Solicitor to HM Revenue and Customs, for the Respondents

             This is an appeal against a personal liability notice (PLN) issued to the Appellant (Mr Eames) on 6 March 2019, in the sum of �108,059.07 plus statutory interest. The PLN was issued pursuant to s121C Social Security Administration Act 1992 in respect of a National Insurance Contributions (NICs) debt relating to A1 Recovery Portsmouth Limited (A1RP).

             There was no dispute as to the amount of the NICs debt, and the background facts of the matter set out below were not generally disputed. HMRC did not allege that there had been any fraud: the question for this tribunal was whether the failure by A1RP to pay the NICs debt was due to neglect on the part of Mr Eames.

             Mr Eames was the sole director and shareholder of A1RP. This company entered compulsory liquidation on 3 July 2017, owing HMRC the NICs debt referred to in [1] above.