Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) curbs FTT witness-summons directions; requires HMRC to particularise stage 3 in locum pharmacists PAYE/NICs status dispute (L Rowland & Co v HMRC)

Published on: 24 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

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Article summary

UT overturns case management directions relating to witness evidence (L Rowland & Co (Retail) Ltd v HMRC) L Rowland & Co (Retail) Ltd v HMRC [2026] UKUT 130 (TCC)

The substantive appeal centres on whether roughly 1,400 locum pharmacists engaged by the taxpayer were self-employed or employees for PAYE and NICs purposes, with the taxpayer maintaining that the locums were self-employed and HMRC asserting that they were employees. The taxpayer refused HMRC access to the locums as witnesses and indicated it would seek judicial review of any approach made to them by HMRC. In case management, the FTT issued directions requiring the identification of ten further locums as witnesses of fact whose evidence could be relied upon at the substantive hearing, as the taxpayer had produced only two locum witness statements. If the taxpayer chose not to call these witnesses voluntarily, the directions envisaged their attendance being secured by witness summonses issued on the FTT’s own initiative. Once this additional witness evidence was available, HMRC was directed to provide further and better particulars of its position on the key question of whether an employment relationship existed in respect of each locum...

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