The Court of Appeal has released its decision in AD Bly Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 1443, which is primarily concerned with the issue of when employee remuneration costs may be disallowed as not being incurred ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purposes of the employer’s trade. The Court’s judgment comprehensively upholds the decision of the Upper Tribunal in the case. For more details, see our earlier article “When is an expense incurred wholly and exclusively for trade purposes?” which discusses the Upper Tribunal’s decisions in both this case and Marlborough DP Ltd v HMRC (also recently upheld by the Court of Appeal).
Appeal dismissed in case considering the meaning of ‘wholly and exclusively’
Conclusions reached on how to approach cross-border taxation for Scottish Aggregates Tax
On 19 November 2025, the Scottish Government published its response to the recent consultation on options for approaching cross-border taxation for Scottish Aggregates Tax (SAT), a new devolved tax on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in Scotland intended to replace UK Aggregates Levy (AGL) from 1 April 2026. The conclusions reached are set out in the form of three different scenarios:
- A customer based in Scotland collects aggregate directly from a quarry in the rest of the UK (rUK quarry), for use in Scotland. In this scenario the rUK quarry is to account for and pay SAT;
- Aggregate is supplied from a rUK middleman to a Scottish-based customer but sourced from a rUK quarry. The quarry also delivers the aggregate to the Scottish-based customer on the middleman’s behalf. Again, in this scenario rUK quarry is to account for and pay SAT; and
- A rUK based middleman, such as a builders’ merchant, supplies aggregate to a Scottish-based customer from their own stock of aggregates. No SAT would be payable in this scenario.
This approach will be confirmed in a Scottish Statutory Instrument in advance of SAT introduction on 1 April 2026. For rUK businesses, the new regime will bring added complexity and an increased compliance burden so affected businesses will need to familiarise themselves with the rules.
Building Safety Levy regulations made
The final version of The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 have now been published. This statutory instrument sets out how the Building Safety Levy in England will operate and was laid before Parliament in draft in July 2025. Our earlier article provides more details. The levy is due to come into operation on 1 October 2026.