Ryanair v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs

Ryanair appealed against the Commissioners’ refusal to refund duty which the airline had paid in respect of Air Passenger Duty. Ryanair argued that the duty had been paid in error because it qualified for a statutory exemption from the duty during the relevant period. In addition, Ryanair applied for judicial review on the ground that the airline had been treated unfairly or inconsistently in comparison with other airlines.

The Upper Tribunal rejected Ryanair’s argument and agreed with the Commissioners that Ryanair did not meet the statutory requirements for the exemption from Air Passenger Duty. In particular, the Tribunal held that there were two discrete requirements and Ryanair did not meet both of those requirements during the relevant period. The Tribunal, exercising its judicial review jurisdiction, also rejected Ryanair’s application for judicial review and decided that the Commissioners were not under any duty to advise Ryanair how the airline might change its systems so as to qualify for the statutory exemption.

James Eadie QC and Simon Pritchard acted for the Commissioners.