K Gordon v The Information Commissioner and HMRC

In K Gordon v The Information Commissioner and HMRC [2019] UKFTT 2019 47 (GRC) (15 August 2019) the FTT turned down an information request relating to costs incurred by HMRC in defending a case.

Mr Gordon had submitted a request for information about costs incurred by HMRC in defending a case. HMRC considered the information to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 s 44(1)(a) and Commissioner for Customs and Revenue Act (CRCA) 2005 s 23 whilst the appellant contended that CRCA 2005 s 23 did not apply because the information sought was not ‘revenue and customs information relating to a person’. The information itself did not ‘identify a person or enable any person’s identity’ to be deduced and HMRC’s approach failed to recognise the purpose of the legislation which was to protect taxpayer confidential information.

Disagreeing with the appellant ...