HMRC was entitled to enquire into a ‘voluntary’ SDLT return, and HMRC’s subsequent closure notice was valid and not issued out of time. 

The appellant entered into certain arrangements whereby it intended to avoid stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a property in London, which took place in mid-2012. The appellant asserted that as a result of the arrangements, SDLT was not due on the purchase of the property because sub-sale relief (under FA 2003, s 45(3)) applied to the arrangements. 

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) opened an enquiry into the SDLT return in September 2012. Subsequently, Finance Act 2013 was enacted upon Royal Assent on 17 July 2013. It was intended to remove the version of the avoidance scheme entered into by the appellant (which used an agreement for the grant of an option) and to do so with retrospective effect. 

The appellant appealed against HMRC’s closure notice issued on 7