McCabe v Revenue & Customs (VAT - capital goods) - whether to direct HMRC to disclose documents) [2019] UKFTT 317 (TC) (20 May 2019)

McCabe v Revenue & Customs (VAT - capital goods) - whether to direct HMRC to disclose documents) [2019] UKFTT 317 (TC) (20 May 2019)

The Tribunal refused the application for disclosure because, although the MAP documents were relevant in a narrow sense, their degree of relevance was low, and HMRC (and the Belgian tax authorities) had advanced a good reason for non-disclosure based on the need for confidentiality in MAPs, supported by international guidance and public policy. The balance of factors under the overriding objective favored non-disclosure.

Citation
[2019] UKFTT 317 (TC)
Parties
Appellant: Kevin McCabe; Respondents: The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
20 May 2019
Procedural Posture
Tax Appeal (first Tier Tribunal) / Interlocutory Application for Disclosure of Documents
Outcome
Application for disclosure refused
Legal Topics
Disclosure of Documents, Double Tax Treaties, Mutual Agreement Procedure, Residence for Tax Purposes, Case Management Powers
Tax Law International Taxation Procedural Law Disclosure of Documents Double Tax Treaties Mutual Agreement Procedure Residence for Tax Purposes Case Management Powers

Case Brief

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Parties

Kevin McCabe

Appellant

The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs

Respondents

Procedural Posture

Tax Appeal (first Tier Tribunal) / Interlocutory Application for Disclosure of Documents

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether HMRC should be directed to disclose documents relating to a mutual agreement procedure (MAP) under the UK/Belgium double tax treaty
  2. 2 Relevance and necessity of MAP documents to the appellant's case
  3. 3 Public policy and confidentiality of MAP communications

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal refused the application for disclosure because, although the MAP documents were relevant in a narrow sense, their degree of relevance was low, and HMRC (and the Belgian tax authorities) had advanced a good reason for non-disclosure based on the need for confidentiality in MAPs, supported by international guidance and public policy. The balance of factors under the overriding objective favored non-disclosure.

Court Disposition

Application for disclosure refused

Orders

  • Mr McCabe’s application for disclosure of MAP documents is refused.