BPP: HMRC bound by Tribunals Rules

KEY POINTS

• HMRC was barred from taking part in the tribunal proceedings.
• Public bodies must disclose material even if it helps the other party.
• Do the Tribunal Rules allow a lower standard of compliance than the Civil Procedure Rules?
• The Court of Appeal confirmed that a state party did not have preferred status.
• The Supreme Court held that no special dispensation is available to HMRC.

In BPP Holdings Ltd v HMRC [2017] UKSC 55 the Supreme Court has confirmed that the First-tier Tribunal was justified in directing that HMRC be barred from taking further part in the proceedings. This was because the Revenue had failed to adhere to the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Tax Chamber) Rules SI 2009/273 (the Tribunal Rules) and the tribunal’s directions.

Background

The underlying case...