Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 section 201

Reasonable excuse for failure to comply or obstruction

Section 201 sets out when a person can avoid penalties for failing to comply with an investigation requirement or for obstructing an officer, by demonstrating that they had a reasonable excuse.

• A person will not be liable to a penalty for failure to comply or obstruction if they can satisfy Revenue Scotland (or a tribunal on appeal) that they had a reasonable excuse.
• Lack of funds is not accepted as a reasonable excuse unless it was caused by events genuinely beyond the person's control.
• Relying on someone else to carry out a task is not a reasonable excuse unless the person took reasonable care to avoid the failure or obstruction occurring.
• If a person had a reasonable excuse that later ceased to apply, they will still be treated as having a reasonable excuse provided they put things right without unreasonable delay after the excuse ended.

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