L-L-O Contracting Ltd Ors v The Commissioners for HMRC
[2023] UKFTT 859 (TC)
BTR Core Fund JPUT v The Commissioners for HMRC
1 October 2024
[2024] UKFTT 885 (TC)
First-tier Tribunal
A company overpaid stamp duty because of a calculation error in a tax relief claim. The tax court said the error was in the claim itself, not just the calculation, so the company couldn't get the overpaid tax back. The court said this was to prevent companies from getting around the rules on when you can correct tax return mistakes.
Key Facts
- •BTR acquired a property in Manchester for £98,172,807 plus overage.
- •BTR claimed multiple dwellings relief (MDR) on its SDLT return and overpaid tax due to a mistake in calculating the SDLT using higher rates instead of standard rates.
- •BTR claimed overpayment relief of £3,064,633.
- •HMRC rejected BTR's claim for overpayment relief.
- •The dispute centers on whether the overpayment was due to a "mistake in a claim" under Schedule 10, paragraph 34A of the Finance Act 2003.
Legal Principles
There are three stages in the imposition of a tax: declaration of liability, assessment, and recovery.
Whitney v IRC [1926] AC 37
A claim for MDR must be made in an SDLT return. The calculation of SDLT under MDR provisions replaces the normal calculation.
Finance Act 2003, Schedule 6B, section 58D
HMRC is not liable to give effect to an overpayment relief claim if the overpayment is due to a mistake in a claim (Schedule 10, para 34A(2)(a)).
Finance Act 2003, Schedule 10, paragraph 34A
Time limits for claiming reliefs should not be circumvented through overpayment relief claims.
Secure Service v HMRC [2020] UKFTT 59 (TC); Smith Homes 9 Ltd v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 5 (TC)
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Tribunal found that BTR's mistake in calculating the SDLT due under MDR was a "mistake in a claim" because the result of the calculation was entered into the SDLT return as part of the claim. Using overpayment relief to correct the mistake would circumvent the time limits for amending the SDLT return.