Taxes Management Act 1970 section 102

Mitigation of penalties

Section 102 grants HMRC (formerly the Board of Inland Revenue) a broad discretionary power to reduce, suspend, settle, or entirely cancel tax penalties, including after a penalty has already been formally determined by a court or tribunal.

• HMRC has discretion to reduce (mitigate) any tax penalty imposed under the Taxes Management Act 1970.
• HMRC may pause (stay) or settle (compound) any proceedings that have been brought to enforce a penalty.
• Even after a penalty has been formally determined by judgment, HMRC retains the power to further reduce or completely cancel (remit) the penalty.
• This power is entirely at HMRC's discretion, meaning there is no automatic right for a taxpayer to have a penalty reduced or removed under this provision.