Ryanair v HMRC

Cathya Djanogly

In Ryanair v HMRC (A3/2013/1517 – 4 April 2013) Ryanair lost its appeal against the refusal of HMRC to repay over £10m of air passenger duty which Ryanair claimed it had overpaid over a four year period.

The issue was whether Ryanair was entitled to an exemption for connected flights. Ryanair had also applied for judicial review of HMRC’s refusal but its claim had been dismissed by the UT.

Under FA 1994 s 30 a passenger who takes two connected flights is deemed to make a single journey. This means that in the case of a passenger who begins his journey abroad but takes a connecting flight in the UK the whole journey is exempt from APD as a single journey originating outside the UK. The Air Passenger Duty (Connected Flights) Order SI 1994/1821 determines which flights are connected for this purpose.

Ryanair had paid...

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The issue was whether Ryanair was entitled to an exemption for connected flights. Ryanair had also applied for judicial review of HMRC’s refusal but its claim had been dismissed by the UT.

Ryanair had paid...

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