Henderson Investment Funds v HMRC

In Henderson Investment Funds v HMRC [2017] UKUT 225 the UT upheld the FTT’s finding that FA 1999 Sch 19 para 7 is a ‘hard edged’ provision.

The issue was the amount of stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) payable in respect of a redemption in specie by a unit holder in a unit trust scheme managed by Henderson.

The unit holder’s interest in the scheme represented 27.41% of the scheme’s property but the securities received on redemption represented an interest of 28.68% of the scheme’s property. The unit holder had therefore received an over allocation of securities on redemption. The question before the FTT was whether FA 1999 Sch 19 para 7 (which applied at the time) should be construed to allow relief on the redemption in specie of units in a unit trust scheme if and only if the unit holder receives a proportionate share of all the...