Angela Savin considers whether the Tribunal has the jurisdiction to hear legitimate expectation arguments
Clear and unambiguous representations made by HMRC in relation to a taxpayer’s affairs may give rise to a (legally enforceable) legitimate expectation that HMRC will act in a certain way. However high-profile cases such as R (Gaines-Cooper) v HMRC [2011] STC 2249 demonstrate the difficulties involved in succeeding with such arguments one of which is the procedure to be adopted when raising both public law and substantive arguments. It may be recalled that in Oxfam v HMRC [2010] STC 686 Sales J in the High Court held that the taxpayer could have raised a legitimate expectation argument in its appeal to the VAT and Duties...
