Extra Statutory Concessions to be given legal effect

A consultation document is published

HMRC has published a consultation document outlining its proposals to put the first tranche of extra statutory concessions on to a statutory basis.

Extra statutory concessions are published instances when HMRC has agreed not to follow the strict letter of the law.

Following the decision by the House of Lords in the Wilkinson case HMRC accepted that its ability to create extra statutory concessions was not as extensive as it had previously believed. It also accepted that if the underlying purpose of some of the existing concessions was to be retained then they would have to be put on to a statutory basis. HMRC has reviewed all its concessions to identify those that are affected by the Wilkinson decision. The government introduced an enabling statutory provision, see s 160, FA 2008, to allow the concessions to be put on to a statutory basis.

The consultation document contains 16 concessions which are going to put on a statutory basis under section 160 and three further concessions which have their own statutory enabling power.

Comments on the proposed legislative proposals are requested by 26 January 2009.

Any comments on the proposals should be sent to Ian Young. 

9 November 2008