1 August 2025
D.E.L.T.A. Merseyside v Uber Britannia: Regulation of private hire vehicles – Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has issued its judgment in D.E.L.T.A. Merseyside Limited and another v Uber Britannia Limited, confirming that private hire vehicle operators (PHVOs) can operationally structure themselves as agents under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 concerning the regulation of private hire vehicles outside of London. While this is a regulatory case, it has consequences on the commercial models, and thus the VAT outcomes, available to PHVOs. This now results in a misaligned national position, following the earlier High Court decision concluding that PHVOs are obliged to be structured as principals under the equivalent regulations applicable in London (which was not appealed). In April 2024, HMRC issued a consultation on the VAT treatment of private hire vehicles. The consultation closed in August 2024 and it remains to be seen what impact this Supreme Court judgment will have on the government’s approach in this area. Also outstanding is the application of the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS) to the sector, which will be considered by the Court of Appeal in Bolt Services UK Limited next year.
SD Limited: First-tier Tribunal dismisses taxpayers’ EIS appeal on commencement of trade
The First-tier Tribunal has dismissed the taxpayers’ appeals in an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) case York SD Limited and others v HMRC. The case concerned whether new shares issued by six appellant group companies, to fund the businesses’ solar energy generation projects, met the statutory conditions to entitle individual shareholders to EIS’s income tax and capital gains tax reliefs. In particular, the Tribunal focussed on whether the newly-incorporated issuing companies had begun their planned trades within two years of the share issue (pursuant to sections 179 and 181 Income Tax Act 2007).
The decision summarises key case law, for example the similar September 2024 First-tier Tribunal EIS decision in Putney Power Limited and others, and distils eight core principles from the authorities on determining whether and when a trade has commenced. Applied to the main projects of the appellants, and whilst agreeing that many key construction contracts had been entered into, the Tribunal inter alia found they were not “ready to face and find customers” before the deadline. The decision states: “We consider that the business infrastructure must be in place and functional to support the trade. A business cannot be said to have commenced trading if it is still assembling the tools or facilities necessary to deliver its goods or services”. As a result of not meeting the trading requirement (and other EIS requirements), the appeals were dismissed.
OECD releases updated Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework schema
On 30 July 2025, the OECD published an updated version of its XML schema for the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The CARF and its schema will facilitate the reporting and automatic exchange of tax information on transactions in cryptoassets in a standardised manner. In the UK, the first reports from cryptoasset service providers, covering the calendar year 2026, are due to be filed with HMRC by 31 May 2027. The OECD state that the updated schema “includes a number of technical adjustments building on the previous user guide approved in 2024.” Alongside the updated schema, the OECD published two updated ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQs) documents with additional guidance on the CARF and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
At the same time, the OECD also released a Pillar Two Status Message XML Schema for tax authorities. Relating to the automatic exchange of Pillar Two Information Returns between tax authorities, the Status Message Schema will allow receiving tax authorities to report any errors in Information Returns back to the sending tax authority in a standardised structured manner.
UK-Barbados Double Tax Convention – synthesised text published
HMRC have published a new ‘synthesised text’ showing how the operation of the 2012 UK-Barbados Double Taxation Convention is modified by the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the ‘MLI’). The provisions of the MLI took effect with respect to the Convention: in the UK and Barbados, for taxes withheld at source, from 1 January 2022; in the UK, from 1 April 2022 for corporation tax and from 6 April 2022 for income tax and capital gains tax; and in Barbados, for other taxes, from 1 October 2021.
Online platforms and marketplaces: The tax and regulatory landscape
The digital economy has revolutionised the way business is conducted, with online platforms and marketplaces playing an increasingly central role. Tax authorities and regulators have responded by introducing a framework of tax and regulatory demands that platforms and marketplaces must consider. Over the summer, Deloitte will be publishing a series of viewpoints on the challenges that digital platforms face. Topics that will be covered include: deemed reseller VAT rules; DAC 7 platform reporting and comparable reporting obligations; the digital services tax and digital tax landscape; the EU Central Electronic System of Payments (CESOP); and joint and several liability exposures.