No they can’t. The court is not HMRC!
Only ones who can put us into administration is:
• The owner (or directors)
• A secured creditor with a qualifying floating charge (QFC) e.g. a bank or specialist lender who has a registered security over most of the clubs assets
• The high court - a creditor (owed more than £750), the company itself or the directors can apply to court but on the grounds that either they can prove that the club is insolvent or likely to be insolvent, AND that administration would achieve a legitimate purpose to rescue the company (club) as a going concern OR it achieves a better outcome for the creditor(s) than liquidation does.
Therefore HMRC cannot directly put the club into administration.
They are classified as a creditor but the winding up petition is a request to the high court to put the club into compulsory liquidation which is when a winding up order becomes in effect.
HMRC would then seek to reclaim money owed to them as a creditor through the liquidation process.
Administration pauses legal action such as the WUP to allow for a restructure / sale of the club to reclaim the money owed, however it has to be triggered by one of the 3 parties as stated above.