Pensions Barrister returns from short sabbatical... Valuing assets held by SIPPS: UT substantially dismisses appeal

In Morgan Lloyd Trustees Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 102 (TCC), UT substantially dismissed an appeal from the FTT’s decision (a note on which can be found here) which upheld unauthorised payment and scheme sanction charges levied by HMRC against the trustees and employers of seven SSASs which had purchased various IP rights such as domain names, websites and trademarks. FTT had made a number of factual findings, including that the market value of the IP rights was overstated, and had also construed the contracts to purchase the IP rights to determine the scope of the transactions. Of the eight grounds of appeal, UT upheld only one, holding that the FTT had erred in its construction of the relevant contracts relating to two employers, and remitting their cases back to the FTT for further consideration.

A transcript of the Upper Tribunal’s decision can be found here.