Late submission of a tax return constitutes an offence only if the taxpayer fails to provide a reasonable explanation for the delay.

“In our understanding, late submission of return becomes an offence only when the taxpayer fails to tender a reasonable explanation for the late submission of the return. The offence is subject to the test of a “reasonable cause”. To demonstrate a reasonable cause, a taxpayer filing a late return must show that he exercised ordinary business care and prudence and was nevertheless unable to file the return within the prescribed time. (See United States v Boyles, 469, U.S 241 [1985]).

52. Whereas the Respondent posited that the Appellant should have used the contacts provided by the Respondent to reach its call center, the Tribunal is persuaded that the Appellant indeed made effort to file its returns on time and went ahead to seek the Respondent’s support through the support page on its website but support was not availed in time.

53. The Tribunal also considers the fact that the Appellant made effort to file its returns on 21st November 2023 as soon as the system was responsive. Although it is clear that the Appellant filed out of time, the reasons provided by the Appellant and the its effort to resolve the system challenge points to a diligent trader seeking to comply with the law”