Upper Tribunal: Tax and Chancery Chamber judgments, 2025

An appeal to the Upper Tribunal lies only on a point of law. Permission requires an arguable error of law in the First-tier Tribunal’s decision which was…

For the purposes of Income Tax Act 2007, s809L, “money” includes bank money represented by a credit balance, notwithstanding the strict legal analysis of bank…

For limitation under section 66 FSMA, the relevant question is when the Authority knew, or had information from which it could reasonably infer, the particular…

An appeal from the First-tier Tribunal lies only on a point of law. Permission should be refused unless the proposed ground has a realistic prospect of success…

Permission to appeal requires an arguable and material error of law with a realistic prospect of success. An Edwards v Bairstow challenge does not permit…

Sections 348–349 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information)…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal is granted only where the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success on a point of law, or there is…

For employment-income purposes, a contingent right granted by an employer is not invariably taxable by reference to its value when granted. The court must make…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal lies only where the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success on a point of law, or there is…

There is no general principle that extended disclosure must be reciprocal. Disclosure is assessed by reference to the circumstances of each party, the pleaded…

Section 80 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 is the exclusive statutory route for reclaiming VAT already paid otherwise than pursuant to section 84(3). Section…

An appeal from the First-tier Tribunal lies only on a point of law. A challenge to factual findings may raise such a point where the tribunal took account of…

For SDLT relief under paragraph 5 of Schedule 4A to the Finance Act 2003, the relevant question is the purpose for which the chargeable interest was acquired.…

An appellate tribunal must read an alleged error of law in the context of the decision as a whole and the findings supporting it. A tribunal’s observation that…

An appeal against an excise-duty drawback decision may involve both a full merits assessment of entitlement and supervisory scrutiny of HMRC’s discretionary…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal is granted where the proposed grounds disclose a realistic prospect of establishing a material error of law…

When deciding whether to admit a late tax appeal, the tribunal should apply the three-stage approach in Martland v HMRC: assess the delay, identify its…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal is granted only where there is a realistic prospect of showing a material error of law. An appeal is not a…

The Disguised Remuneration Repayment Scheme’s “no power to recover” condition concerns the amount claimed under the settlement, not merely the existence of a…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal is granted only where the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success or there is another compelling…

A contribution notice under the Pensions Act 2004 is not confined to cases involving proved financial loss to a pension scheme. The material detriment test is…

The statutory discretion to extend time for an appeal under Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 83G(6), is broad and must be exercised judicially. The…

The Upper Tribunal has jurisdiction to strike out an appeal for abuse of process, including an appeal that has become academic, under the general…

Eligibility for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme depends on the statutory conditions, not on a claimant’s honest belief or understanding of HMRC…

The power to de-register a taxable person for VAT purposes under Ablessio does not require proof that the company’s directors knew, or should have known, of…

Market abuse is established where orders are likely to give a false or misleading impression or signal as to supply, demand or price, and the trader did not…

For the purposes of the business investment relief extraction of value rule, value means value in money or money’s worth, not net value. A recipient need not…

Where a regulator withdraws only one element of enforcement action in a decision notice while maintaining another, it need not issue a notice of discontinuance…

For intra-Community VAT zero-rating, the decisive question is whether the supplier held sufficient commercial evidence of removal within the prescribed period.…

For the one-year assessment limit under section 73(6)(b) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994, time runs from the date when the Commissioners have actual evidence…

A permissive regulation-making power concerning tax assessments does not, without clear language, exclude the ordinary assessment machinery in the Taxes…

A senior manager acts recklessly, and therefore without integrity, where he knows that statements supplied to the regulator are inaccurate, appreciates the…

A witness summons is justified where there is a real likelihood that the witness will give evidence materially assisting the Tribunal. The evidence need not be…

For VAT purposes, a composite supply is identified by its economic reality from the perspective of the typical recipient. The decisive questions are whether…

An issuer which publishes financial information must take reasonable care to ensure that the information is accurate and reliable. It cannot publish a figure…

For the transactions in securities regime, a taxpayer’s main purpose must be determined by reference to subjective intention. An income tax advantage within…

A retroactive end-use authorisation under Article 172(3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 is available only for a true renewal. The new…

A pre-2007 claim for share loss relief under Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, section 574, which carries a loss back to an earlier year is governed by…

For acquisition accounting, fair value of an identifiable tangible asset should be based on market value where a reliable market value can be established by…

A notice of enquiry is valid if, read objectively in its factual and legal context, it leaves a reasonable taxpayer in no reasonable doubt as to the specific…

For VAT classification, the question whether a snack is made from potato and similar to potato crisps is a composite, practical question. Potato granules may…

In calculating disgorgement within a financial penalty, the regulator may deduct the appropriate tax adjustment and add interest to the net figure, provided…

For the extended time limit in Taxes Management Act 1970, the taxing authority need not prove that undeclared income came from an identified taxable source. It…

A company is not within the first example in paragraph 10 of HMRC’s Statement of Practice (05/01) merely because it believed known profits were outside the…

Case A in paragraph 34A(2)(b) Schedule 10 Finance Act 2003 excludes overpayment relief where excessive SDLT results from failing to claim a relief that had to…

Late voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions paid within the applicable six-year period are treated, for benefit entitlement, as paid on the actual…

Under the IR35 intermediaries legislation, employment status must be determined from the terms of the hypothetical contract and all the surrounding…

Contractual interpretation is objective. The court must ascertain what a reasonable person, equipped with the background reasonably available to the parties…

Where the VAT education exemption in Article 132(1)(i) contains a supplier condition, fiscal neutrality requires a comparison of suppliers within their legal…

The VAT Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme is defined by the nature of the services supplied, not by the supplier’s formal status as a travel agent or tour…

For relief under section 253(3) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, an amount is outstanding only if the lender retains a subsisting right to enforce…

Under the IR35 intermediaries legislation, the tribunal must determine whether the worker would have been an employee under a hypothetical direct contract with…

Disgorgement in a financial penalty must deprive a wrongdoer of the benefits of wrongdoing without imposing an additional punitive charge. Tax which…

For customs classification, the tariff code must reflect the goods and the applicable consignment rules. Where cells originating in one country are…

Permission to appeal should be granted where a proposed ground is arguable, with a realistic prospect of establishing a material error of law in the First-tier…

On a reference from a refusal of authorisation, the Tribunal’s task is supervisory. It must dismiss the reference if the regulator’s decision was reasonably…

For the reduced landfill-tax rate, material disposed of must consist entirely of the specified qualifying material. The inquiry focuses on the waste and the…

Disclosure in judicial review is ordered only where it appears necessary to resolve the matter fairly and justly. Documents are relevant to identifying the…

Where a lower tribunal gives sparse reasons, an appellate tribunal must review its decision in the context of the material evidence and submissions. If the…

A statutory deeming provision bringing settled property into a life tenant’s estate does not, without clear language or necessary implication, deem the life…

For the late-presentation exception in Article 97n(2), the relevant inquiry is whether exceptional circumstances caused the failure to submit the proof of…

A preliminary issue should be directed cautiously and only where it presents a succinct point capable of disposing of a distinct aspect of the case. The issue…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal will be refused unless the proposed ground discloses an arguable error of law. Apparent bias is assessed…

For the EIS disqualifying-arrangements provisions, a person is a “party to” arrangements where the person has sufficient involvement that it is appropriate to…

Permission to appeal should be granted only where the proposed ground is arguable, has a realistic prospect of success, and identifies a material error of law.…

An overpayment-relief exclusion in paragraph 34A of Schedule 10 to the Finance Act 2003 remains available after HMRC opens an enquiry into the claim. A closure…

For the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme, a bought-in supply must be used to provide travel facilities and supplied for the direct benefit of travellers. The…

Grounds of appeal must identify the material factual and legal issues with sufficient clarity for the tribunal and respondent to understand the case advanced.…

In an appeal against a tax assessment, the taxpayer bears the burden of showing that the assessment is wrong. HMRC need prove an assumed fact only where the…

For the VAT exemption for charitable fund-raising events, “primary purpose” means the event’s single main purpose, rather than any merely important purpose. An…

Rule 11(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Tax Chamber) Rules 2009 does not require a non-legal representative’s notice to be physically sent…

Permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal lies only on a point of law. Permission should be granted where the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect…

A statutory time limit for amending a Stamp Duty Land Tax return cannot be extended by general discretion or exceptional circumstances. The words “except as…

On an application to amend a reference, permission should be given only where the proposed enlargement has a real prospect of producing a different and…