Newcastle United Football Club Ltd & Anor v HM Revenue & Customs & Anor [2017] EWHC 2402 (Admin) (04 October 2017)

Newcastle United Football Club Ltd & Anor v HM Revenue & Customs & Anor [2017] EWHC 2402 (Admin) (04 October 2017)

The court held that although the procedure before the judge could have been improved, including the giving of reasons and allowing more reading time, the statutory requirements for issuing the warrants under PACE Schedule 1 were met. The judge had sufficient information and was entitled to be satisfied that the criteria were fulfilled. The absence of explicit reasons did not vitiate the warrants, as the reasoning could be discerned from the application and transcript. The procedural and substantive challenges to the warrants were rejected.

Citation
[2017] EWHC 2402 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: Newcastle United Football Club Limited; Claimant: Newcastle United Limited; Claimant: Newcastle United Football Company Limited; First Defendant: The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs; Second Defendant: The Crown Court at Leeds
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
04 October 2017
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Final Judgment After Expedited Hearing
Outcome
Claim dismissed; warrants upheld
Legal Topics
Search and Seizure Warrants, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Judicial Scrutiny, Disclosure Obligations, Procedural Fairness, Tax Evasion Investigation, Remedies in Judicial Review
Criminal Law Tax Law Judicial Review Administrative Law Search and Seizure Warrants Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Judicial Scrutiny Disclosure Obligations +3 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Newcastle United Football Club Limited

Claimant

Newcastle United Limited

Claimant

Newcastle United Football Company Limited

Claimant

The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs

First Defendant

The Crown Court at Leeds

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Final Judgment After Expedited Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the warrants issued to HMRC for search and seizure against NUFC were lawfully issued under PACE Schedule 1
  2. 2 Whether the judge failed to give adequate reasons for issuing the warrants
  3. 3 Whether HMRC failed in its duty of disclosure to the judge

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that although the procedure before the judge could have been improved, including the giving of reasons and allowing more reading time, the statutory requirements for issuing the warrants under PACE Schedule 1 were met. The judge had sufficient information and was entitled to be satisfied that the criteria were fulfilled. The absence of explicit reasons did not vitiate the warrants, as the reasoning could be discerned from the application and transcript. The procedural and substantive challenges to the warrants were rejected.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed; warrants upheld

Orders

  • The claim for judicial review is dismissed.
  • Interim relief restraining HMRC from examining seized material is discharged.