The Supreme Court was asked to consider whether HMRC had conducted a valid enquiry. HMRC had issued their opening letter to the wrong address, but the advisers and the taxman continued in the belief that all was in order. The court ruled that the taxpayer couldn’t claim the enquiry was invalid, as all parties had proceeded on the basis the enquiry was opened properly.
The crucial point here is that if Mr Tinkler had initially challenged whether the enquiry was valid, he may have avoided the lengthy and costly investigation that followed.
