Part 5Enforcement of the levy and penalties
Chapter 3Penalties
Penalty for failure to make returns
51Reasonable excuse for failure to make return
(1)
If P satisfies the relevant local authority that there is a reasonable excuse for a failure to comply with section 26, liability to a penalty under sections 47 to 50 does not arise in relation to that failure.
(2)
For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a)
an insufficiency of funds is not a reasonable excuse unless attributable to events outside P's control,
(b)
where P relies on any other person to do anything, that is not a reasonable excuse unless P took reasonable care to avoid the failure, and
(c)
where P had a reasonable excuse for the failure but the excuse has ceased, P is to be treated as having continued to have the excuse if the failure is remedied without unreasonable delay after the excuse ceased.