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The ICAEW Tax Faculty has expressed anxiety about HMRC’s stance on Mansworth v Jelley losses, after reports revealed that the department is sending standardised letters to taxpayers pursuing a claim in respect of the case, despite many people having already sent a detailed reply to the Revenue's February request for claims to be withdrawn.
In response to the Tax Faculty's concerns, HMRC the latest letter asked for further information and had been issued to taxpayers who had cited legitimate expectation as reason for withdrawal to be inappropriate but had not supplied specific information relevant to their case.
The department added it was ‘reviewing the cases where legitimate expectation was cited and information has been provided’ and will be replying to taxpayers individually.
The Tax Faculty said it was unclear whether the taxman’s February letter could be read as a decision to deny relief for Jelley losses where a taxpayer has claimed legitimate expectation – and if there is no possibility of an appeal to a tribunal, the only alternative is apply for judicial review.
If the earlier letter can be construed as the Revenue denying the losses, then the deadline for the judicial review application is three months from the date of the correspondence, said the Tax Faculty.
‘The time limit is therefore extremely short and taxpayers thinking of applying for judicial review need to act as a matter of urgency,’ the organisation added.
