P&O tax dodge the latest to be sunk in Treasury crackdown which has clawed back £1billion already this year Ferry firm used 'elaborate trick' to get an extra £14million in tax relief Tribunal ruled it was designed for 'no reason other than tax avoidance Ministers say it takes corporate tax avoidance wins in 2013 to £1billion P&O ferries today became the latest firm to have a global tax avoidance scheme thrown out as the Treasury claimed £1billion has been clawed back already this year. The ferry and logistics firm was accused of an "elaborate trick" in using a complex scheme to get an extra £14 million in tax relief. It came as ministers said a tax avoidance clampdown had protected £1billion in court battles with international firms trying to avoid paying their way in Britain. All at sea: The P&O tax avoidance scheme, which dated back to 2004, was described by a tribunal as 'elaborate trick' HMRC successfully challenged the P&O scheme at a First Tier Tribunal, which ruled that the transactions were all part of an "elaborate trick" designed to exploit the rules. The Tribunal said: "It is clear that the scheme would only work so long as every participant in it was either a captive company or a stooge employee of a company within the P&O group." In its verdict it added that the scheme was "designed and implemented for no reason other than tax avoidance." The scheme dates back to 2004 but the firm was bought by Dubai Ports World in 2005 in a takeover deal worth £3.3billion. The legal battle had dragged on for nine years, although the laws being exploited by P&O were repealed in 2005 to stop other companies following suit. Treasury minister David Gauke said HMRC would continue to go after 'complex and intricate' schemes Today David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: "I'm delighted that HMRC has successfully defeated this attempt by a major company to artificially reduce its tax bill by exploiting an extremely complex international financial structure. The Government has made it very clear that we won't put up with aggressive tax avoidance and we have resourced HMRC to take on even the most complex and convoluted schemes, as this Tribunal decision shows. A total of £154 million of tax was protected, the Treasury said. However, DP World said it was filing an application for permission to appeal against the decision. A spokesman: 'This decision relates to a dispute between P&O and HMRC about the double tax treatment of profits repatriated to the UK in 2004, before we acquired P&O in 2006. This technical debate involves complex 2001 legislation that has now been repealed. Since the transactions took place there have also been changes to the corporation tax rules on dividends and distributions, with Parliament and HMRC recognising that the law was impractical and unfair, and any company can now repatriate profits from its subsidiaries abroad without giving rise to the problems in this case. In light of these facts, we have filed an application for permission to appeal the decision. But Mr Gauke boasted that it was just the latest victory for HMRC after also taking on corporate giants including Land Securities and the Bristol and West bank in the courts. All of the firms claimed to be using legitimate schemes to whittle down their tax bills. But after being challenged, the court tax tribunal slapped down their arrangements, and the companies were forced to cough up the unpaid bills. Mr Gauke said: "HMRC has already topped £1bn in court wins against corporate tax avoidance this year. Schemes like this are complex and intricate, and without the technical skills, resources and commitment of HMRC's specialists they would go unchallenged, costing the country billions of pounds every year. The biggest sum, around £600m, came from breakdown insurance group WHA, which was accused of trying to recover VAT through a scheme that used two companies based in Gibraltar.