Greenwich Contracts Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
[2023] UKFTT 874 (TC)
Oculus Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
27 March 2024
[2024] UKFTT 271 (TC)
First-tier Tribunal
A Maltese company's appeal against a tax notice was thrown out because they weren't directly notified of the notice. The court also decided that Brexit means EU laws no longer overrule UK laws in this case.
Key Facts
- •Oculus Limited (Appellant), a Maltese company, provides services through a UK agent, Griffith Anderson Limited (GAL).
- •HMRC issued a Scheme Reference Number (SRN) to GAL under the DOTAS regime (Finance Act 2004, sections 310D-311B) related to payments to workers.
- •Oculus appealed the SRN allocation, claiming it should have been notified and that the allocation infringed its EU right to free movement of capital.
- •HMRC applied to strike out the appeal, arguing the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction as Oculus was not notified of the SRN.
- •The dispute centered on the applicability of EU law post-Brexit and the interpretation of sections 310D-311B of the Finance Act 2004.
Legal Principles
Supremacy of EU law
European Communities Act 1972, European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023
Right to Free Movement of Capital (FMOC)
Article 63 TFEU (previously), EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Direct effect of EU law
Case law (Tower Bridge GP Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2022] EWCA Civ 998, Autologic Holdings plc and others v Inland Revenue Commissioners [2005] 4 All ER)
Jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber)
Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Tax Chamber) Rules 2009, rule 8(2)(a)
Interpretation of statutes (implied repeal, constitutional statutes)
Thorburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195 (Admin)
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT)
Article 70 VCLT
Outcomes
Appeal struck out
The Tribunal lacked jurisdiction because the Appellant (Oculus) was not notified of the SRN, and the purported EU right to free movement of capital did not override domestic legislation post-Brexit.
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