Andrew Lillicrap v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 19 January 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 72 (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
Mr Lillicrap appealed HMRC's decision that national insurance contributions were due on his car allowance; his appeal had been stayed pending related cases but an interlocutory decision of 1 November 2021 lifted that stay. The Tribunal decided that interlocutory decisions of this type should be published, lifted the stay because the related decisions would not materially assist and further delay was inexpedient, and appended the interlocutory Decision; the appeal later settled and was withdrawn.
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
Interlocutory decisions are not automatically excluded from publication; the open justice principle supports publishing non-routine interlocutory decisions of wider public interest. A tribunal should not continue a stay where the related decision would not be of material assistance and where continuing the stay would be inexpedient or contrary to dealing with the case fairly and justly.
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 judge observed that once a judgment has been handed to the parties it is effectively in the public domain even if not on a judicial website, and expressed practical fairness concerns about allowing HMRC to rely on unpublished decisions given HMRC's access to a comprehensive library of such decisions; the judge noted others might take a different view.