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Where a company has failed to make timely payment of contributions for which it is liable and, in the opinion of HMRC, that failure is due to fraud or neglect on the part of any person who was at the time a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the company (or any person purporting to act as such) (a 'culpable officer'), HMRC may serve a 'personal liability notice' on such an officer. In the case of a body corporate which is managed by its members, every such member exercising, or purporting to exercise, management functions is an officer for this purpose. HMRC has indicated that it will not seek to apply these provisions where the directors and officers have acted in good faith, and the non-payment is the result of 'unexpected commercial misfortune'¹.

However, HMRC also aver² that 'Clearly any failure to pay on time can constitute 'neglect' as a taxpayer who knows of an obligation—the need to pay National Insurance Contributions by a certain date—and fails to fulfil