UT (Tax & Chancery) UT/2023/000103 - [2025] UKUT 00102 (TCC)

As set out earlier in this decision, Ballards entered into two loan agreements with its SSAS. Under the First Loan it borrowed £32,000 secured on its trademark, while the contract for the Second Loan stated that the SSAS was lending Ballards £48,956 secured on the same trademark. HMRC decided Ballards had received an unauthorised payment of £48,956, and the FTT agreed.

Ground 2 was that:

“The Tribunal erred in law in concluding that the amount of the loan included the previous loan by the Ballards’ pension scheme to the sponsoring employer that was ‘consolidated’ with the new loan made by the relevant transaction.”

In other words, MLT’s position was that the Second Loan had given rise to an unauthorised payment of £24,000, being the difference between the amount of that Loan and the £24,956.24 outstanding on the First Loan.