The Revenue received a total of 14,150 reviews into the cases over 2013-14, up from 13,178 in 2012-13.
HMRC said the majority of reviews that did not involve VAT penalties concerned late filing and late payment penalties, most of which are issued automatically when a return or payment is not received on time.
Of these reviews, 59% (8330) were upheld in the Revenue’s favour, while 39% (5546) were dropped.
The total number of requests by taxpayers for all types of review fell from 38,975 in 2012-13 to 37,668 in 2013-14.
HMRC completed a total of 38,621 reviews over the year, with a small number relating to cases from previous years.
The Revenue received a total of 7081 new appeals to the tribunal over the year, of which 6,626 were closed.
It was involved in 2550 hearings at the First-tier Tribunal, of which three quarters were ruled in its favour and 17.4% were ruled in the taxpayer’s favour.
The Revenue said its review system is designed to give customers a “relatively quick and easy way” to ask it to take a second look at its decisions, and is widely used by those who do not have an accountant or agent.
“The review process gives customers an early opportunity to challenge these decisions and put forward an explanation for the default that may result in the penalty being cancelled,” it added.
In September, HMRC issued its first accelerated payment notices to suspected tax avoiders, and will continue to do so on a monthly basis until it has sent out over 40,000 demands.
