The Claimant’s application for permission for judicial review challenging HMRC’s decision to issue consequential amendments under s28B(4) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 has been refused by the Administrative Court on all but one issue.
The Claimant was a participant in “film schemes” considered by the Court of Appeal in Eclipse Film Partners No.35 LLP v HMRC [2015] EWCA Civ 95. The Claimant argued that HMRC were wrong to make the following amendments to his personal tax returns: 1) disallowing loan interest relief, 2) increasing taxable profits attributable to partnership profits used to discharge loan repayments, and 3) disallowing deductions for administrative fees incurred by the partnerships.
Fordham J, giving judgment ex tempore, held that the challenges to amendments described at (1) and (2) above were unarguable on the respective bases that there existed an adequate alternative remedy and was without prospects of success. Permission was granted to challenge category (3) of the amendments described but the tax at stake in respect of this ground is less than £200,000, in comparison to the overall claim worth £11.6 million.
Thomas Chacko and Arthur Wong acted for HMRC.
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