10 August 2021
DNAe Group Holdings Limited v HMRC; (FTT)
David Yates QC appeared for DNAe Group Holdings Limited (“DNAe”) which succeeded in establishing that it qualified as an SME for R&D expenditure under s.1044 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009. DNAe specialised in R&D into point of care solutions for DNA gene sequencing detection. The key question in the case was whether DNAe’s parent company, EGL, which was part of the Genting group, was a venture capital company within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation (EC) No 2003/361. Having reviewed the earlier cases of Pyreos and Monitor Audio, the First-tier Tribunal concluded that EGL was a venture capital company and rejected the argument advanced by HMRC that the investment in DNAe had some ulterior strategic benefit for the Genting group.
The judgment can be read here.
This content is provided free of charge for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by any member of PCTC or by PCTC as a whole.
