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03 June 2014 / Oliver Marre
Issue: 4454 / Categories: Comment & Analysis , Admin , Compliance

Unpublished Special Commissioners’ decisions must stay under wraps to maintain justice and fairness

KEY POINTS

  • Historically HMRC have sought to rely on unpublished Special Commissioners’ decisions.
  • Decisions unfavourable to HMRC may be ignored and taxpayers are unaware of these.
  • The First-tier Tribunal holds that unpublished decisions must be ignored to ensure a fair trial.
  • The tax significance of sources of interest.
  • The source of interest must be determined using a multi-factorial approach.

The recent First-tier Tribunal (FTT) judgment in Ardmore Construction Ltd v HMRC TC/2011/07724 concerns two issues one procedural and the other substantive and each in its own way is of great importance to taxpayers.

The procedural issue relates to whether a party in tribunal proceedings can cite an unpublished Special Commissioners’ decision. The FTT held that it cannot.

The substantive issue is the correct test for identifying the location...

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