Equity Trust Challenges QROPS Decision

Equity Trust, trustee of the Panthera ROSIIP pension fund, is taking the UK tax authority to court to challenge the removal of Singapore's Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) status in May 2008.

The trust company, which established Panthera in a joint venture with Credit Suisse subsidiary Clariden Leu, said it has tried to come to a mutual agreement with HMRC over the future status of the scheme but has so far failed.

In a letter to policyholders dated 20 January, Equity Trust said it issued a letter to HMRC under the ‘Pre action Protocol’ within the Civil Procedure Rules in December but received no response.

It has subsequently made an application to the UK’s High Court for ROSIIP to be restored to QROPS status.

The letter from Equity Trust director Fredrik van Tuyll also said ROSIIP had always been managed within QROPS legislation.

The reasons for the decision to bar Singapore have never been fully explained due to the Revenue’s silence on the matter. Industry sources suggested at the time the problem could lie with Singapore’s taxation of pensions, rather than a single scheme’s actions.     

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