Trading losses relating to a year in which HMRC did not require the company to submit a tax return did not prevent it from establishing the existence of the losses and their availability for set-off in self-assessing its profits in a later year.
The appellant company became UK resident in March 2003, but did not immediately appreciate that it had done so. The company’s professional advisers subsequently notified HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in March 2010. HMRC issued notices on 20 September 2010, requiring the appellant to file tax returns for its accounting periods ended 31 December 2004 to 31 December 2009.
The company filed returns on 17 December 2010 for the above periods, together with a ‘voluntary’ return for the period ended 31 December 2003. The company returned trading losses for its 2003 and 2004 accounting periods. However, HMRC considered that the earliest ‘in-date’ year when the returns
