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Abbey Forwarding Ltd (in liquidation) (TC4190)
The taxpayer company applied for a witness summons to be issued to one of its former liquidators. The First-tier Tribunal directed that the summons be issued.
An issue arose as the level of expenses that should be paid to the witness.
The tribunal judge said such a payment should not be confined to out-of-pocket expenses – but it should relate only to the witness herself, and not encompass any loss to the her employer or business partners. It was not appropriate to calculate the expenses in line with her working rates.
The judge advised that the witness be paid in accordance with the Guide to Allowances, under part five of the Costs in Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986. The maximum amount payable to a professional witness was £174, as set out in appendix one of the guide, under the heading “Regulation 19”. The witness was also allowed travelling expenses of £100.
