The appellants’ appeals against discovery assessments of stamp duty land tax were allowed, as HMRC failed to complete the assessing procedure because the assessments were made but not issued and served. 

The appellants all entered into stamp duty land tax (SDLT) mitigation schemes and paid none on the acquisition of land on prices for which SDLT would otherwise have been due. On 18 February 2013, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) purported to raise SDLT assessments on the basis that the SDLT mitigation scheme was ineffective, slightly before the expiry of the four-year time-limit for making discovery assessments. The appellants appealed. 

The appellants all said they were unaware of the purported assessments for some years after they were made. After becoming aware of the assessments, the appellants sought to appeal them. HMRC subsequently accepted that none of the six