Europcar Group UK Ltd and another v HMRC

In Europcar Group UK Ltd and another v HMRC [2021] UKFTT 359 (TC) (7 October 2021) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) directed that the appellant companies and HMRC should appoint joint expert witnesses to provide evidence on relevant tax law in Germany and the Netherlands.

The companies claimed cross-border group relief over several years in respect of losses incurred by two subsidiaries resident in the Netherlands and Germany. Both of the subsidiaries had subsequently been liquidated. HMRC opposed the claims with the tax at stake amounting to £4.5m.

The claims could only succeed if there was no possibility of the losses being utilised in Germany and the Netherlands and both sides agreed on the need for expert evidence to set out the relevant tax law in those countries. The companies considered that a joint expert should be instructed for each jurisdiction ...