Don't Follow Too Narrow An Interpretation Of 'Personal Data'

The High Court considered a claim that HMRC breached the subject access rights (SAR) of the claimant under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.

Background:

Mr. Ashley brought a claim against HMRC for breach of his SARs under the UK GDPR. The SAR was made in the context of a (then) ongoing tax dispute. He sought to access his personal data as processed by HMRC in connection with its inquiry into his tax return for the 2011/12 tax year. The inquiry was conducted by the defendant's Wealthy and Mid-size Business Compliance Department (WMBC).

Following the inquiry, HMRC issued a Closure Notice under s.28A of the Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970, concluding that the properties had been sold by the claimant at an overvalue, meaning he had obtained a taxable benefit, giving rise to a tax liability of c.£13.6 million. On 23 November 2016, the claimant appealed against the Closure Notice. On 8 December 2016, the appeal against the Closure Notice was