MW High Tech Projects UK Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 5 December 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 1040 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
MW High Tech Projects UK Ltd appealed HMRC's refusal to pay a 2017 RDEC claim on the basis that the company's 2017 and 2018 published accounts were prepared on a non-going-concern basis. The Tribunal held the statutory test in s 104 CTA 2009 requires reliance on the latest published accounts and will not go behind them; because the 2017/2018 accounts were not prepared on a going concern basis the 2017 RDEC claim was extinguished and HMRC's decision was upheld. The Tribunal also found no prior period adjustment in the 2019 accounts that retrospectively altered the earlier published accounts, and held Finance Act 2023 amendments do not apply retrospectively.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
The ratio is that for s 104 CTA 2009 purposes a company's going-concern status is determined by its latest published accounts and tribunals may not look behind those published accounts to re-characterise going concern; later non-retrospective statutory amendments or subsequent accounts do not retrospectively alter entitlement unless earlier accounts are withdrawn and reissued.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal observed (obiter) that purposive interpretation cannot be used to rewrite clear statutory wording or to make non-retrospective legislation retrospective, that treasury policy documents do not displace clear statutory meaning, and that auditing standards (including ISA 570) do not override directors' legal responsibility or change the legal effect of published accounts for tax entitlement.