Metropolitan International Schools Ltd v Revenue and Customs: CA 14 Feb 2019

Interpretation of section 84(10) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 What is at issue is whether section 84(10) enables the appellant, Metropolitan International Schools Limited, to advance a legitimate expectation claim in the context of appeals to the First-tier Tribunal rather than by way of judicial review.
Held: The appeal failed. Section 84(10) of the VATA is inapplicable both because HMRC’s view on whether the School should be granted a transitional period amounted to no more than a factor in their decision to assess and because the assessments could have been raised without HMRC reaching any decision on any legitimate expectation contention. The legitimate expectation point did not bear on whether there was ‘VAT chargeable’ or a liability to assess and, in the words of the UT, ‘HMRC had to deal with it first because it was raised in negotiation by the taxpayer, but it did not otherwise have to’. If the School wishes to pursue its legitimate expectation argument, it must seek to do so in its judicial review claim, not in the context of these proceedings.

Citations:

[2019] EWCA Civ 156

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Value Added Tax Act 1994 84(10)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

VAT

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.633445