The Upper Tribunal overturned a decision of the First-tier Tribunal and held that discovery assessments were validly made due to advice having been given carelessly to the taxpayer by his agent.  

The taxpayer, a self-employed financial trader, heard of a tax avoidance scheme in September 2008. The scheme was operated by a firm of tax consultants (MTC), who had notified the scheme to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under the disclosure of tax avoidance scheme (DOTAS) provisions (on form AAG1). 

The taxpayer attended two meetings with MTC to discuss the scheme arrangements. His accountant (B) attended the second meeting with him. The taxpayer subsequently signed documentation with MTC and entered into the arrangements. Between signing the documentation and the end of the tax year 2008/09, the taxpayer carried out scheme transactions, which were claimed to give rise to