Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010 section 211

Restriction of right to appeal against Commissioners' approval

Section 211 limits the right to challenge HMRC's approval of a transfer pricing determination when bringing a tax appeal.

• When HMRC have approved a transfer pricing determination under section 210, that approval itself cannot be challenged as part of a tax appeal.
• This restriction applies to appeals brought under the Taxes Management Act 1970 or under Schedule 18 to the Finance Act 1998 (which deals with company tax returns).
• However, there is an exception: if the grounds for questioning HMRC's approval are the same as the grounds for questioning the underlying determination itself, then the approval can be challenged.
• In practice, this means a taxpayer can dispute the substance of a determination on appeal but cannot separately attack HMRC's decision to approve it, unless both challenges rest on identical grounds.