Revenue Scotland has confirmed that its LBTT and SLfT collection system, SETS, will go offline at 4pm on Thursday 18 July for a scheduled upgrade. The new system will not go live until 12 noon on Wednesday 24 July, meaning there will be a period of downtime when returns cannot be submitted electronically.
How to manage the SETS downtime
In our webinar, we discuss the key implications of the SETS upgrade, including what to expect when the new system goes live, the impact of the transition on registration and, significantly, how best to manage the downtime.
With sufficient preparation, it should be possible to avoid the need to submit paper returns (which will still be accepted) during this period by submitting LBTT returns in advance. During the downtime, paper returns can be signed by agents and submitted to Revenue Scotland (not Registers of Scotland, as previously) but payment has to be made by cheque.
Additional information can also be found by looking at Revenue Scotland's FAQs (expected to be updated later today) and guidance issued by Registers of Scotland.
Upper Tribunal upholds challenge to daily late filing penalties
Our webinar also discusses the various LBTT late filing and late payment penalties, which in some circumstances can be significant.
We address the interaction between the penalties and how penalties can be challenged, including common mistakes to avoid.
Finally, we discuss the impact of two recent tribunal decisions which have seen challenges to the daily late filing penalties upheld. Whilst Revenue Scotland still has an opportunity to lodge further appeals, these decisions could spell the end for daily late filing penalties. Furthermore, they could open the door for repayment of all such penalties paid to date, resulting in a refund to taxpayers of up to £900 plus interest. Until the impact of these decisions is clear, we suggest thinking twice before paying daily late filing penalties.
