General Medical Council v Commissioners of Inland Revenue

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
Judgment Date28 March 1928
Date28 March 1928
CourtKing's Bench Division

NO. 675.-HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE (KING'S BENCH DIVISION).-

COURT OF APPEAL.-

(1) 1. THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL
and
THE COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE.2. THE ENGLISH BRANCH COUNCIL OF THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL v THE COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE

Income Tax - Exemption - Charitable purposes - Income Tax Act, 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V, c. 40), Section 37 (1) (b).

  1. (2) The General Medical Council was established by the Medical Act, 1858, the purpose of which as expressed in the preamble was to enable persons requiring medical aid to distinguish qualified from unqualified practitioners. The Council consists of 38 members of whom 27 are appointed by universities and by medical corporations, 5 by His Majesty in Council, and 6 are elected by the medical profession. Until 1924 all members were members of the profession. The Council's chief statutory duties are (a) to keep and publish a register of qualified practitioners, (b) to exercise supervision over medical studies and examinations, (c) to publish the "British Pharmacopoeia".

    Any person possessing the required medical qualification is entitled to registration on payment of a fee, and any registered person is entitled to practise, to make reasonable charges for his services and to recover such charges. An unregistered person is not prohibited from practising, but is unable to recover his fees by legal process, cannot give a valid certificate, and is debarred from certain appointments. The Council has power to strike a person off the register if it finds him guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect. The Council's expenditure is mainly on committee work, inspection of examinations, printing and office expenses. Its income, derived from investments, sale of publications, and certain fees, falls short of its expenditure, and the deficit is made good annually by contributions from its English, Scottish and Irish Branch Councils.
  2. (3) The English Branch Council is one of three Branch Councils to which the General Medical Council is authorised to delegate powers and duties, and whose principal function is the registration of practitioners in their areas; the branch registers are combined in the complete register which is kept and published by the General Council. The Branch Council's income consists of registration fees and investment income, and its main expenditure is the contribution to the General Council.

The Commissioners of Inland Revenue refused the claims of both Councils to exemption from Income Tax in respect of their investment income, and the Special Commissioners, on application to them under Section 19 of the Finance Act, 1925, held that the Councils were not established for charitable purposes only.

Held, that the Councils were not established for charitable purposes only, and were not entitled to exemption.

CASES.

1. The General Medical Council v. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue.

CASE

Stated under the Income Tax Act, 1918, Section 149, by the Commissioners for the Special Purposes of the Income Tax Acts for the opinion of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.

1. At a meeting of the Commissioners for the Special Purposes of the Income Tax Acts held on the 25th October, 1926, The General Medical Council (hereinafter called the Council) claimed exemption from Income Tax for the four years ending on the 5th April, 1924, under Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, on the ground that they were a charity within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts. The Council's claim, having been refused by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, was heard and determined by us under the provisions of Section 19 of the Finance Act, 1925.

2. The Council, whose full name is The General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom, was first established under the Medical Act, 1858 (21 & 22 Vict., c. 90), and was incorporated by Section 1 of the Medical Council Act, 1862. Its composition has been altered from time to time, and it now consists of thirty-eight members of whom eighteen are appointed by Universities in the United Kingdom, nine by the medical corporations, five by His Majesty in Council, and six elected by members of the medical profession. From the establishment of the Council until the end of the four years to which this Case relates all the members of the Council have been members of the medical profession; but we were informed that since the 5th April, 1924, a lay member has been appointed by His Majesty in Council.

3. The preamble of the Medical Act, 1858, reads as follows: "Whereas it is expedient that persons requiring medical aid should "be enabled to distinguish qualified from unqualified practitioners: "Be it therefore enacted" &c. Section 3 of the 1858 Act established the Council, and Section 6 set up Branch Councils for England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively, to which Branch Councils the Council was empowered to delegate powers and duties, and through which the Council does a great deal of its work.

4. The chief duties imposed by the Act upon the Council were (a) to keep and publish a register of qualified practitioners, (b) to exercise oversight upon medical studies and examinations, and (c) to publish "The British Pharmacopoeia".

5. With regard to registration every person who possesses the required medical qualification is entitled on payment of certain fees to have his name entered upon the register kept by the appropriate Branch Council (Section 15). The combined Branch registers form the complete register which is published by the Council and not by the Branches. The name of a practitioner once registered may be struck off the register in certain circumstances set out in Sections 28 and 29 of the Act, which read as follows:-

  1. 28. If any of the said colleges or the said bodies at any "time exercise any power they possess by law of striking off "from the list of such college or body the name of any one "of their members, such college or body shall signify to the "General Council the name of the member so struck off; and "the General Council may, if they see fit, direct the Registrar "to erase forthwith from the Register the qualifications derived "from such college or body in respect of which such member "was registered, and the Registrar shall note the same therein: "Provided always, that the name of no person shall be erased "from the Register on the ground of his having adopted any "theory of medicine or surgery.

  2. 29. If any registered medical practitioner shall be "convicted in England or Ireland of any felony or misdemeanor, "or in Scotland of any crime or offence, or shall "after due enquiry be judged by the General Council to have "been guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect, "the General Council may, if they see fit, direct the Registrar "to erase the name of such medical practitioner from the "Register.

6. By Section 31 of the Act and by Section 6 of the Medical Act, 1886, it is provided that any person registered under the Act shall be entitled according to his qualification or qualifications to practise medicine or surgery or both and to demand and recover in any Court of law reasonable charges for professional aid advice or visits and for any medicines or medical or surgical appliance and by Section 32 an unregistered person is not entitled to recover any such charges.

7. Section 34 of the Act reads as follows: "the words "legally "'qualified medical practitioner" or "duly qualified medical "'practitioner", or any words importing a person recognised by "law as a medical practitioner or member of the medical profession, "when used in any Act of Parliament, shall be construed to "mean a person registered under this Act."

8. An unregistered person is not prohibited from practising medicine but he suffers certain disabilities, for example, he cannot recover fees by legal process, he cannot give a valid certificate, he is debarred from certain appointments (vide Section 36 of the Act), and he is unable to join in practice with a registered practitioner in such a way as to lead the public to believe that he is "covered" by the qualifications of the latter. There are certain penalties prescribed by the Act in the event of any person taking any name title addition or description implying that he is registered under the Act.

9. By Section 35 of the Act a registered person is if he so desires exempt from service on juries and inquests.

10. Sections 18 to 21 of the Act give power to the Council to require information from medical teaching and examining bodies as to the courses of study and examinations to be gone through in order to obtain the qualifications granted by them, and empowers a representative of the Council to be present at examinations. If it appears to the Council that the course of study and examinations for any qualification are not such as to secure the possession by persons obtaining such qualification of the requisite knowledge and skill for the efficient practice of their profession, the Council is empowered to make representations to the Privy Council; and the Privy Council may order that the possession of the qualification in question shall no longer confer a right upon its holder to be registered under the Act.

11. The powers given by the Act of 1858 to the Council in the matter of supervising medical examinations were expanded by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Medical Act, 1886 (49 & 50 Vict., c. 48), which read as follows:-

  1. 2. Examination before registration.-On and after the "appointed day a person shall not be registered under the "Medical Acts in respect of any qualification referred to in "any of those Acts, unless he has passed such qualifying "examination in medicine, surgery and midwifery, as is in "this Act mentioned.

  2. 3. Qualifying examinations held by medical authorities.-

    1. (2) "A qualifying examination shall be an examination "in medicine, surgery, and midwifery held, for the purpose "of granting a diploma or diplomas conferring the...

To continue reading

Request your trial
6 cases
  • PIGS MARKETING BOARD (NORTHERN IRELAND) v Commissioners of Inland Revenue
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 17 January 1945
    ...any of them are charitable. My inclination, as at present advised, would be to say, as Lawrence, L.J., said in the Medical Council cases, 13 T.C. 819, at page 851: "When the object and "functions of such a body as this are considered, it seems to me to be far "remote from anything which com......
  • Pigs Marketing Board (Northern Ireland) v Commissioners of Inland Revenue
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division (Northern Ireland)
    • 17 January 1945
    ...any of them are charitable. My inclination, as at present advised, would be to say, as Lawrence, L.J., said in the Medical Council cases, 13 T.C. 819, at page 851: "When the object and "functions of such a body as this are considered, it seems to me to be far "remote from anything which com......
  • The Institution of Civil Engineers v The Commissioners of Inland Revenue
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 8 June 1931
    ...into line with the cases of The Headmasters' Conference and Association of Preparatory Schools, 10 T.C. 73; The General Medical Council, 13 T.C. 819; The Geologists' Association, 14 T.C. 271; The General Nursing Council for Scotland, 14 T.C. 645; in which the claimants were held not entitle......
  • Institution of Civil Engineers v Commissioners of Inland Revenue
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 8 June 1931
    ...into line with the cases of The Headmasters' Conference and Association of Preparatory Schools, 10 T.C. 73; The General Medical Council, 13 T.C. 819; The Geologists' Association, 14 T.C. 271; The General Nursing Council for Scotland, 14 T.C. 645; in which the claimants were held not entitle......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT