Tribunal's Hands Tied in Certain Cases

Tribunal’s Hands Tied in Certain Cases

In certain excise cases, Tribunals lack direct decision-making authority. Rather than being able to overturn a decision outright, the Tribunal must instead inform HMRC that it believes the decision is incorrect and request that another officer review the matter. This procedural requirement limits the Tribunal’s ability to deliver final outcomes for appellants.

Historically, reviewing officers agreed with the Tribunal’s assessment approximately 95% of the time. When the Tribunal indicated that a decision should be reconsidered, the reviewing officer would typically reach the same conclusion and amend the original decision accordingly.

However, recent trends show an increase in reviewing officers upholding the challenged decisions, even after the Tribunal has indicated that the original decision was flawed. This development is concerning for taxpayers who have gone through the effort and expense of a Tribunal hearing only to find that the reviewing officer disregards the Tribunal’s findings.

In response to this trend, judges have begun providing strict instructions to reviewing officers about what they may and may not consider when conducting their review. These directions are intended to ensure that the review process is conducted fairly and in accordance with the Tribunal’s findings.

CTM has directly challenged HMRC’s attempts to issue a second decision without following the Tribunal’s directives. Where HMRC has failed to conduct the review in accordance with the judge’s instructions, we have taken action to hold them to account and protect our clients’ interests.