Grant Anderson v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 3 July 2026
Neutral citation: [2026] UKFTT 1007 (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
This appeal concerned HMRC discovery assessments for 2008–09 and 2009–10 and a closure notice for 2010–11 arising from loans paid via an AML offshore EBT to Mr Anderson. The Tribunal held the payments were employment income, upheld HMRC’s discoveries and the assessments and closure notice, rejected Mr Anderson’s procedural, delay and estoppel arguments, and dismissed the appeal. Permission to appeal must be sought within 56 days.
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: medium
The Tribunal treated redirected employment earnings paid into an EBT as giving rise to an income tax charge at the point of redirection, such that HMRC could validly make discovery assessments and amend returns by closure notice under the TMA provisions relied on. The Tribunal also accepted that a “discovery” by HMRC can be established through organisational processes and need not identify the individual officer who later issues the assessment.
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 noted obiter that estoppel by convention can, in principle, operate against HMRC but only in limited circumstances and subject to statutory duties and limits; mere reliance on an erroneous HMRC email without sufficient mutual dealing or detriment will not establish estoppel. It also observed that internal HMRC errors corrected on review do not automatically invalidate a subsequently corrected assessment if the revised calculation is supported.