The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellants’ appeal against the refusal of an application for a direction that HMRC issue an enquiry closure notice, as there was an ‘arrangement’ for consortium relief purposes and HMRC must continue their enquiry to determine whether that arrangement formed part of a scheme for anti-avoidance purposes.
The four appellant companies were the subject of enquiries by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into their corporation tax returns for the periods ended 31 December 2011 to 2013. HMRC’s enquiries related to claims made by the applicants for consortium relief. The question to which HMRC's enquiries were directed was whether there was a scheme caught by an anti-avoidance provision. HMRC requested a great deal of information and numerous documents. The 
