05 January 2026

Afzal Alimahomed v HMRC [2025] UKUT 428 (TCC)

The Upper Tribunal has handed down its judgment in Afzal Alimahomed v HMRC [2025] UKUT 428 (TCC).

The taxpayer made bank transfers from his offshore account into accounts held by others in the United Kingdom. Additionally, goods and services were purchased in the United Kingdom using the taxpayer’s credit card. HMRC assessed the taxpayer to income tax on the basis that these transactions were remittances of income to the United Kingdom within section 809L of the Income Tax Act 2007.

Because the money, goods, and services were received by people who were not “relevant persons” (as defined in section 809M), the transactions could only be remittances if they involved money or other property being brought to the United Kingdom by the taxpayer.

Regarding the bank transfers, the Upper Tribunal dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal. In agreement with HMRC, it held that bank accounts could constitute “money” within the meaning of the statute, notwithstanding their nature as a chose in action. It followed that bank transfers into the United Kingdom answered to the description of “money […] brought to the United Kingdom”.

In relation to the credit card payments, the Upper Tribunal held that the decision of the First-tier Tribunal had failed to address essential elements of the statutory test. It therefore remitted those issues back to the First-tier Tribunal for consideration with additional evidence.

The decision contains a helpful discussion of what is meant by “money […] brought to the United Kingdom” in section 809L, which remains central to the operation of the remittance basis in periods before 6 April 2025. Its discussion of the meaning of “money” may also be of general interest in the interpretation of tax and other statutes.

Richard Vallat KC and Louis Triggs appeared for HMRC.

You can read the judgment here.