British Telecommunications PLC – UT – procedural case – Bad Debt Relief – whether FTT correct to strike out appeal – yes

• The case concerns a claim for Bad Debt Relief by British Telecommunications (BT).
• The Court of Appeal (CoA) ruled that claims for supplies prior to 1 April 1989 are out of time, but BT argued that there are factual matters and legal issues that still need to be considered at a full hearing.
• The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) concluded that BT’s case had no reasonable prospect of success and struck out the appeal.
• The Upper Tribunal (UT) agreed with the FTT, stating that the CoA had already decided that a claim for relief for bad debts could not be made under s80 of the VAT Act 1994, and any further appeal would have no reasonable chance of success.
• The taxpayer’s appeal was dismissed.

Source KPMG