The decision highlights that HMRC may not simply issue an assessment simply because it is within the time limits for doing so. HMRC must make a discovery to justify the assessment. And when a taxpayer challenges an assessment HMRC must put forward clear and admissible evidence of who made the ...
However, if no SDLT return is filed, HMRC has four years to issue a ‘determination’ of the SDLT that should have been paid (or potentially 20 years to issue a discovery assessment in certain circumstances). This is potentially a more powerful weapon than a simple discovery assessment, becau...