Candy wins latest stage of £2m stamp duty battle

Developer Christian Candy has succeeded in the latest round of a long-running dispute over almost £2m of stamp duty land tax. The case centres on his 2012 purchase of a £68m Georgian villa in Chelsea, SW3, that he quickly passed on to his brother, Nick. The case, which highlights how complicated the operation of stamp duty can become in some circumstances, arose because Candy transferred the property, Gordon House, to his brother before the sale had been completed and the property was paid for, through a complicated corporate structure, in instalments by both brothers. Both brothers filled in the necessary stamp duty forms and, after the sale, Christian Candy applied for a refund. However, the tax office refused. The Candy brothers challenged the ruling with lawyers for Candy arguing that HMRC was effectively charging SDLT twice on one transaction. The case flip-flopped though the tax courts, ending up in the Court of Appeal in 2022. Candy lost. The court found that HMRC was not taxing the same transaction twice because “in effect [Christian Candy] sub-sold the property to his brother”. However, Candy’s legal team continued to litigate the matter. And at a hearing at the First-tier Tribunal his lawyers argued that, in this situation, legislation allowed him four years to file to reclaim SDLT. HMRC had argued the time limit was 12 months. In a ruling handed down last week, Judge Vimal Tilakapala backed Candy and ruled he did indeed have four years to file to reclaim the overpaid SDLT. He said HMRC’s lawyers now have 56 days to decide whether they plan to file an appeal. Christian Peter Candy v HMRC First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber (Judge Vimal Tilakapala) 10 April 2025 Image © Rex/Shutterstock