In Elaine Curtis v HMRC [2022] TC 8499, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) ruled that while a loan received was related to a pension transfer and represented an Unauthorised Member Payment, HMRC had not raised a valid discovery assessment to collect the resulting tax.

The FTT found that:

The appeal was allowed.

Useful guides on this topic

Pensions: Unauthorised payment charges
What is a pension unauthorised payment? When does a tax charge arise? Who pays the charge? 

Discovery Assessments
When can HMRC issue an assessment outside of the normal statutory time limits? What conditions must be met? What are your rights of appeal and defences?

How to appeal an HMRC decision
Disagree with an HMRC decision? How to appeal, what type of decision can you appeal and what are your different options when you disagree with HMRC? What are the key steps in making an appeal?

Statutory Review (by HMRC)
What is a Statutory Review? Is it automatic? What happens in a Statutory Review? Can you challenge a Statutory Review's findings? Can you influence a Statutory Review?

When the tax inspector calls
This section looks at policy on tax strategies/avoidance and tax investigation news, including serious fraud and disclosure facilities. From time to time we comment on any other topical HMRC activity.

External links

Elaine Curtis v HMRC [2022] TC 8499


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