LLJL and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This matter concerned an appeal by LLJL against the Commissioner of Taxation's decision to impose administrative penalties for failing to lodge income tax returns for the 2011 and 2012 income years. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether these penalties should be remitted.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there were grounds for the remission of the administrative penalties imposed by the Commissioner. This involved considering LLJL's assertions that he had not received reminder letters from the Commissioner and his explanation for the delay in lodging the returns.

The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's decision, finding that LLJL had failed to lodge his returns for a significant period, even after being reminded of his obligations. The Tribunal noted that LLJL had been put on notice of the potential for penalties during a phone conversation with the Commissioner's staff in April 2018, where penalties for later years had been remitted based on his explanation of not being aware of taxation requirements. Despite this, LLJL failed to lodge the outstanding returns, and subsequent reminder letters, though not received by LLJL due to an address change, were sent. The Tribunal concluded that there was no fair or reasonable basis for remitting the penalties, as it remained within LLJL's control to lodge his returns in a timely manner.

The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's decision dated 17 September 2019, which refused to remit the penalties for the late lodgement of the 2011 and 2012 income tax returns.