Smith Homes 9 Ltd v HMRC

In Smith Homes 9 Ltd v HMRC [2020] UKFTT 437 (TC) (31 October 2020) the FTT considered a claim for SDLT overpayment relief under FA 2003 Sch 10 para 34 and held that the company’s appeal was invalid or in the alternative that it should be struck out.

In March 2017 the company purchased an office building. It completed an SDLT return on the basis that the property was non-residential and paid tax accordingly. In May 2018 the company’s agents made a claim for overpayment relief on the basis that the return had been completed incorrectly because the company ‘did not know or could not reasonably have known’ that multiple dwellings relief (MDR) was available. The claim indicated that MDR was available because the property had planning permission for development into residential units.

The FTT found as a fact that the claim...