Capital One Bank (Europe) Plc v Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs

Facts

Capital One Bank (Europe) plc appealed against the Commissioners' rejection of its claim for a refund of input tax of a little over £11 million. The appeal was heard in May 2005 by a tribunal of which Colin Bishopp was chairman, sitting with Mr Kenneth Goddard, and the decision was released on 9 September 2005. At the hearing the dispute had been broken down, for convenience, into six not entirely discrete issues. The first, which was determinative, was resolved in the Commissioners' favour; the tribunal nevertheless went on to decide the remaining five, in case the matter went further and because it had heard evidence and argument on them. The second, fourth and fifth issues were decided in the bank's favour, as was the third, concerning the value of the consideration, save that the tribunal held that if there was consideration at all its value was £700 million rather than the £2 billion and more contended for; the Commissioners succeeded on the sixth. Although the tribunal had indicated that a direction on costs in the Commissioners' favour would be appropriate, it had not been addressed on the subject and made no formal direction. The Commissioners now sought a direction wholly in their favour; the bank, accepting that this was an exceptional case in which the Commissioners were not bound by their usual practice of not seeking costs, contended for an issue-based approach.