The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in R v (on the application of De Silva and another) v HMRC  [2017] UKSC 74.  The decision will safeguard £100’s millions for the Exchequer but does again raise the question to what extent a taxpayer can rely on HMRC guidance.

The decision brings to an end an issue dating back to 1999 when De Silva made a claim for tax relief under the statutory film reliefs introduced by the Labour Government during the era of 'Cool Britannia'.  The issue decided by the Supreme Court was whether HMRC had followed the correct legislative procedures when opening enquiries into the claim made by De Silva.