Philip Baker QC and Imran Afzal, acting for Gallaher Limited, have secured a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which may be the last direct tax reference from the UK before the end of the Brexit transition period. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU provides that a UK court or tribunal cannot refer any matter to the CJEU on or after “IP completion day”, which is at 11pm on 31 December 2020. The reference concerns whether the UK corporation tax legislation on intra-group disposals is compliant with EU law and, if not, what the remedy might be. The response of the CJEU should inform the interpretation of the new instalment regime as well as the application of the intra-group transfer rules in prior periods. You can read the decision here.
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