A number of people completing an online submission of tax returns during January and well ahead of the deadline, were shocked to discover that HMRC had already issued fines to those who are yet to submit their returns and also to those who have already submitted them!
HMRC denied sending these late filing/payment notices but had to backtrack and offer an apology when it was found that these had been sent out because of human error.
653 people who submitted their tax returns by the start of January were sent bogus late-payment penalty charges and therefore had to pay a £100 penalty. HMRC has promised to cancel these fines.
If this happened to you, more information on how to contact HMRC about it can be found at the following link: