25 March 2025
Morgan Lloyd Trustees Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 00102 (TCC)
The Upper Tribunal has released its decision Morgan Lloyd, concerning finance provided from pension schemes to employers backed by a range of intellectual property assets. The Tribunal determined a number of issues, including (a) construction of contracts to identify the relevant assets, (b) the proper interpretation of the time limit for applications by scheme administrators to discharge liability from the scheme sanction charge and (c) the grounds on which liability can be discharged, including the correct approach to assessing reasonableness.
The appeal concerned 7 test cases. In relation to 5 of those cases, the Tribunal upheld the FTT’s decision that unauthorised payments had been made, and that the scheme administrator’s liability for the resulting tax charges should not be discharged. In relation to the other 2 cases, the UT reached a different conclusion on the interpretation of the contracts, and remitted those cases to the FTT for further consideration.
Laura Poots KC, acting for HMRC, led Jamie Muir Wood of Hogarth Chambers, Sarah Black of 11 New Square and Emile Simpson of 4 New Square.
You can find a copy of the judgment here.
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