RED-faced tax collectors have admitted that their computer crashed as millions of potential tax payers dashed to return their tax forms in a last-minute bid to ward off a £100 fine, writes Chris Koenig

The crash came to light when Oxford accountants Neville Russell found that while the tax office was demanding that anyone who had received a form must return it by Saturday or face a fine, Inland Revenue staff were failing to return statements to tax payers who had returned their forms on time.

Inland Revenue spokesman Paul Franklin told the Oxford Mail: "There was a computer crash for a few hours. Our IT partners EDS are looking into the causes." He added: "People who sent in their self-assessment forms to us before Christmas should by now have received statements."

But Julie Henshaw, of the Oxford office of chartered accountants Neville Russell, sent hers in December and has still not received her statement. She said: "Clients who have sent in their forms are still receiving reminders from the taxman. Then they ring us up and ask what we are doing.

"We are advising anyone to send their payment by post to the collector of taxes and take their forms to their tax office on or before Saturday.

"They can take their forms to any office, so if their tax office is in Salford, say, they can still deliver it to Oxford."

She added: "It is very important to get a receipt for your forms."

The Inland Revenue sent out nine million forms and about 3.4m people have not yet been returned.

People who do not return them by January 31 automatically incur a £100 fine.

The Oxford tax office in Marston Road and the Banbury office in Southam Road are opening on Saturday to receive last-minute forms. The Oxford tax office can be contacted on 01865 264300. A self-assessment helpline is open in the evenings: 0645 000 444.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.