No deduction available

Three taxpayers claimed the foreign earnings deduction for seafarers in respect of their employment. They were employed on a movable unpowered platform that was moved and anchored near drilling platforms.

HMRC accepted that the vessel was a ship.

However they also deemed it to be an offshore installation which paradoxically meant that it was deemed not to count as a ship for the purposes of the deduction.

The appellants argued that the vessel was not a drilling rig and could not function as such.

The First-tier Tribunal said that the appellants’ argument was true but not relevant: the vessel was used entirely in connection with drilling wells for exploring and exploiting mineral resources.

It was also used to provide ancillary services including water mud cement and to provide accommodation for the drilling workers.

The judge accepted that the vessel was not a drilling...