Legitimate expectation

The first claimant worked as a seafarer between 1974 and 2007. In his tax return for 2005/06 he claimed seafarer’s earnings deduction (SED).

Under ITEPA 2003 s 378(1) three conditions had to be satisfied for the deduction to be given. One criteria was that the taxpayer making the claim had to be absent from the UK. He would be regarded as being absent on any day only if he was away ‘at the end of the day’.

An HMRC document form S203(new) explained what was meant by ‘at the end of the day’ as did other subsequent Revenue publications: form P84 and the booklet Seafarers – notes on claims for 100% foreign earnings deductions known as the Blue Book.

According to the latter publication:

‘A day of absence from the UK is any day when you...