GB Housley v HMRC

In GB Housley v HMRC [2016] EWCA Civ 1299 (21 December 2016) the Court of Appeal found that the UT had been wrong to remit a case to the FTT in circumstances where HMRC’s decision had clearly been flawed and the appeal should simply have been allowed.

Both the FTT and the UT had held that HMRC’s failure to consider exercising its discretion under the VAT Regulations 1995 reg 29(2) to accept in the absence of proper self-billing invoices alternative evidence in support of input tax deductions was unreasonable. However disagreeing with the FTT the UT had held that the FTT should not have allowed the appeal but should have directed HMRC to exercise its discretion in relation to the relevant material. The UT therefore allowed HMRC’s appeal and remitted the matter to the FTT. The...