Gaspet Ltd v Ellis (Inspector of Taxes): 1985

S Ltd was a member of an oil and gas exploration syndicate, the agreement relating to which provided that the exploration work was to be carried out by one member of the syndicate (the operator) on behalf of the other members. The costs, expenses, rewards and benefits accruing from the exploration operations were to be shared by the syndicate members in proportion to their participating interests. The taxpayer company was a member of the same group as S Ltd and entered into an ‘illustrative agreement’ with S Ltd. whereby it was to bear the share of the costs of the expenditure incurred by the operator for which S Ltd was responsible in return for taking the benefit of all S Ltd’s share of any petroleum won from the exploration. The issue in the case was whether the taxpayer company was entitled to capital allowances in respect of the part of the expenses which it paid pursuant to the illustrative agreement which represented research costs.
Held: Peter Gibson J said: ‘A capital allowance authorised under the Capital Allowances Act 1968 is treated as a trading expense deductible from profits for corporation tax purposes: section 73 of the Act of 1968. Section 91(1) of that Act governs the right to a capital allowance in respect of expenditure on scientific research and the material part of that subsection is as follows: ‘where a person – (a) while carrying on a trade, incurs expenditure of a capital nature on scientific research related to that trade and directly undertaken by him or on his behalf’ ‘ and ‘The phrase, ‘by him or on his behalf’ is to my mind one very familiar in ordinary language . . I would venture to say that its ordinary and natural connotation is that the act must be done by the claimant or his agent . . I am satisfied that [counsel for the Revenue] is correct in his submission that there must be a contractual link between the claimant and the person by whom the research is directly undertaken and the contractual link is one of agency or something akin thereto . .’

Judges:

Peter Gibson J

Citations:

[1985] 1 WLR 1214

Statutes:

Capital Allowances Act 1968 91(1)

Cited by:

Appeal fromGaspet Ltd v Ellis (Inspector of Taxes) CA 1987
S Ltd. a member of an oil and gas exploration syndicate, agreeing that the exploration work was to be carried out by one member of the syndicate on behalf of the other members. The costs, expenses, rewards and benefits accruing from the exploration . .
CitedPlevin v Paragon Personal Finance Ltd SC 12-Nov-2014
PPI Sale – No Recovery from Remote Parties
The claimant sought repayment of payment protection insurance premiums paid by her under a policy with Norwich Union. The immediate broker arranging the loan was now insolvent, and she sought repayment from the second and other level intermediaties. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Agency, Income Tax

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.538716