The Court Of Appeal Gives Guidance On S36 Limitation Act 1980: HMRC v IGE USA Investments & Ors

• Published date: 23 August 2021
• Law Firm: Gatehouse Chambers
• Author: Mr Tom Bell

The Court of Appeal (Henderson LJ, with whom Asplin and Birss LJJ agreed) has handed down judgment in HMRC v IGE USA Investments and others, an important appeal about the scope of the notoriously difficult section 36 of the Limitation Act 1980.

Section 36 provides that the time limits for claims founded in contract, tort etc. do not apply to claims for equitable relief, "except in so far as any such time limit may be applied by the court by analogy in like manner as the corresponding time limit under any enactment repealed by the Limitation Act 1939 was applied before 1st July 1940".

The case concerns a claim by HMRC for rescission of a tax settlement reached in 2005. In 2019, HMRC applied for permission...