No permission needed to raise new arguments

The taxpayers appealed against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal in relation to interest on repayments of VAT (TC8249). In response to the notice of appeal, HMRC raised new arguments. The taxpayer said HMRC should have applied to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to raise these new arguments.

The Upper Tribunal agreed with HMRC that this was not required.

First, HMRC had been ‘entirely successful’ at the First-tier Tribunal and, as the successful party, did not require permission to raise any issues or arguments – new or old – at the appeal brought by the losing party to the Upper Tribunal. Second, it was not possible for HMRC, having won the appeal, to seek permission to appeal against an issue which the First-tier Tribunal ‘did not decide, or purport to decide, let alone decide against HMRC’.

The substantive appeal will go ahead later this year.

Issue: 4842 / Categories: Tax cases