P N Bewley Ltd v Revenue & Customs (STAMP DUTY : Land tax)

STAMP DUTY LAND TAX � bungalow and plot of land acquired with planning permission for demolition and building of new dwelling on site � whether higher rates of SDLT in Schedule 4ZA FA 2003 apply � whether bungalow building �suitable for use� as a dwelling on date of transaction � held not so suitable � self‑assessment as amended by HMRC reduced to remove higher rate charge and to reflect non‑residential rate.

Sitting in public at Civil & Family Justice Centre, Redcliff St, Bristol on 9 January 2019

This was an appeal by P N Bewley Ltd (�the appellant�) against the amendment of a stamp duty land tax (�SDLT�) return made by them on 8 February 2017.� The amendment was made by Mr Joel Lord, an officer of the respondents (�HMRC�) and was notified to the appellant in a letter of 26 January 2018 giving the officer�s conclusion of his enquiry into the return.� The amendment increased the SDLT payable from �1,500 to �7,500.

The return related to the purchase by the appellant of Rosemount, Hillcote, Weston‑super‑Mare (�Rosemount�).

Our bundle contained the SDLT1 return, the correspondence between the officer, Mr Lord, and the appellant�s solicitors, and several substantial documents appended to the correspondence.� It also included some black and white photocopies of photographs of the building in question, which were difficult to examine, but we were immensely helped by Mrs Bewley showing us the originals on her mobile phone, from which we were also able to confirm the date they were taken.