No QROPS status

The taxpayer company which was incorporated in Singapore was the trustee of a pension scheme ROSIIP.

HMRC granted the scheme qualifying recognised overseas pensions (QROPS) status under FA 2004 s 150(8) but later withdrew it.

The trustee company appealed.

The High Court noted that reg 2(3) of the Pension Schemes (Categories of Country and Requirements for Overseas Pension Schemes and Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) Regulation 2006SI 2006/206 set out the requirements for an occupational pension scheme to be recognised for tax purposes.

In particular primary condition 1 required the scheme to be open to residents of the country in which the scheme was established. In the case of ROSIIP the trustees had presented the scheme as a ‘foreign...