It’s worth dealing with this subject, albeit briefly. If the appeal falls under the Standard or Complex category, you will be issued with deadlines to produce documents and serve witness evidence. If you miss those deadlines repeatedly, or simply fail to communicate within HMRC or the Tribunal on a regular basis, the Tribunal can issue what is called an ‘Unless Order’. It is usually worded in a way that compels either party to meet a deadline (or confirm they wish to continue with an appeal) by a certain date or the appeal may be struck out. If you miss an ‘Unless Order’ deadline, depending on the Tribunal wording, your case will be struck out without further communication.

However, even if that happens, you are allowed to make an application to the tribunal to have it re-instated, but, by this stage, it is quite tricky.

Tribunals always have one eye on ensuring appeals are finalised in good time and that the parties act reasonably. It is to ensure that the interest of fairness and justice are adhered to.

However, most people involved in Tribunal find the process very stressful. If you are struggling to deal with the matter and you have no representation, simply keep the Tribunal aware of this and they will do all they can to ensure you stay in the process.

We have written a separate article on what happens at a Tribunal hearing, so that people are more relaxed. Knowing what to expect makes life much easier.

Please call Liban Ahmed on 0345 557 0005 if you have any questions regarding this article.