R v Binfield

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) [2019] EWCA Crim 1812, Lord Justice Hickinbottom, Mrs Justice Sweeney and Sir Roderick Evans (Sitting as a Judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)), 25 October 2019

Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 72 - Fraudulent evasion of tax - Appeal - Disclosure - Accuracy of HMRC 's digital records

The central issue in this appeal was disclosure. A failure by the prosecution to provide material that passes the disclosure test can render convictions unsafe. In 2018, the House of Commons Justice Committees reviewed disclosure of evidence in criminal cases (albeit predominantly considering Crown Prosecution Service ("CPS") prosecutions, rather than HMRC cases) and found that there needs to be a shift in culture towards viewing disclosure as a core justice duty rather than an administrative add on.