Glencore says HMRC issued a £264mn tax bill EIGHTEEN MONTHS late, leaving miner facing penalty dispute

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026.

Mining giant Glencore has told HMRC that a £264 million tax demand arrived roughly eighteen months after it should have, triggering a dispute over whether the bill is even valid. The late-notice claim puts the taxman on the back foot at a moment when HMRC is already under fire for systemic failures in handling legitimate pension tax relief claims. Two separate stories are colliding to paint a damaging picture of an agency that cannot get its timing or its payments right. Taxpayers are being failed from both ends — penalised late on one hand, and denied relief they are owed on the other.

Pension savers trying to claim higher-rate relief are reportedly getting stuck in an HMRC loop — apps cycling from 'received' to 'done' with nothing paid and no explanation.

HMRC faces pressure from both a global mining company and ordinary pension holders on the same morning — a rare double-front embarrassment for the taxman.