A Omar v HMRC

In A Omar v HMRC [2019] UKFTT 78 (6 February 2019) the FTT found that discovery assessments were invalid as the returns submitted by the taxpayer were correct.

Mr Omar had been given advice in two meetings with pension providers that the contributions he would make to the schemes would be tax deductible. He then decided to put funds into his pension and his employer contributed a proportion of Mr Omar’s contributions.

HMRC issued discovery assessments on the basis that Mr Omar had claimed excessive deductions. The FTT firstly disagreed with HMRC’s view that Mr Omar had been careless. He had acted on the advice of experts and there was no additional requirement to look at HMRC’s material. The tribunal also disagreed with HMRC’s finding that some of the deductions claimed related to contributions made by Mr Omar’s employer and were therefore not deductible under ITEPA 2003 s 188. It was...