Project Blue v HMRC

In Project Blue v HMRC [2014] UKUT 564 (18 December 2014) the UT found that FA 2003 s 75A applied to a transaction which would otherwise have been exempt from SDLT.

The issue was the SDLT payable on the disposal of the Chelsea Barracks by the secretary of state for Defence (SSD) for a price of £959m.

The sale comprised the following steps:

• SSD contracted to sell the land to Project Blue (PBL) for £959m;
• PBL contracted to sell the land to a Qatari bank (MAR) for $2 467 875 000 (sterling equivalent is £959m). An element of the price was the additional payment tranche payable on the rental payment dates under a leaseback of the land by MAR to PBL. Instalments of this tranche were to be drawn down to enable PBL to pay MAR rent due under the leaseback so...