Generator Power Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC

Decision date: 24 May 2024

Neutral citation: [2024] UKFTT 458 (TC)

Overall AI summary confidence: high

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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

Generator Power Ltd appealed an HMRC information notice under Schedule 36 FA 2008 seeking a Property Schedule and a Legal Fees Schedule relating to property transfers from the company's sole director/shareholder. The Tribunal found the requested schedules were reasonably required to check GPL's tax position and that HMRC had "reason to suspect" relevant under-assessments for the periods covered, so GPL's appeal was dismissed and it was ordered to provide the outstanding information 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 held that an information notice under Schedule 36 is "reasonably required" where there is a sufficient connection between the requested information and the taxpayer’s tax position — here to resolve uncertainties about the tax treatment of property transfers and to quantify any underassessment — and that evidence of unclear or potentially incorrect treatment in later periods can give HMRC reasonable grounds to suspect under-assessment in earlier, similarly treated periods (satisfying Condition B).

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 indicated that HMRC may reasonably request fuller or duplicate information even if similar material has been considered previously, because HMRC may need a complete or reconsidered dataset to determine whether different conclusions are warranted; and that information need not already change the taxpayer's position to be "reasonably required," only that it is necessary for checking.

Warning

Some repetition and duplicated passages occur in the chunk, making it dense but the material is coherent.

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