UT-2023-000051 - [2024] UKUT 00114 (TCC)

It was not clear from Ms Choudhury’s submissions exactly on what legal principle this ground of appeal was based. As far as we could gather, it appeared to be that Ms Choudhury was arguing that the FTT had either taken into account an irrelevant factor or had reached a conclusion at which no reasonable tribunal could have arrived or that, perhaps, no reasonable tribunal could have reached the conclusion that the FTT did when taking account of this factor (Edwards v Bairstow [1956] AC 14).

It seems to us difficult to argue that this factor was irrelevant but exactly how much weight should be placed upon it was, in our judgment, a matter for the FTT in reaching its evaluative decision. Certainly, we thought it fell well short of satisfying the Edwards v Bairstow test and we did not understand Ms Choudhury to be impugning the Decision on this basis with any conviction.

We reject therefore HMRC’s appeal on Ground 2.