K Gobie v HMRC

In K Gobie v HMRC (TC02364 – 22 November) an individual (G) submitted two returns in which he overclaimed foreign tax credits. When HMRC discovered this they issued assessments to recover the tax due. G appealed contending that the assessments had been issued outside the statutory time limit. The FTT rejected this contention and dismissed the appeals. Judge Coverdale held that the conditions of TMA 1970 s 29(5) were satisfied.

Read the decision

Why it matters: TMA 1970 s 29(5) provides that HMRC may issue an assessment outside the normal time limits where ‘the officer could not have been reasonably expected on the basis of the information made available to him before that time to be aware of the situation ...’. The FTT upheld HMRC’s contention that this condition was satisfied here as HMRC had not previously been aware that the appellant’s return...