Firestone Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd. v. Lewellin (1957), 37 TC 111 (HL)

tThe taxpayer ("Brentford"), which was a U.K. subsidiary of a U.S. corporation ("Akron") manufactured tires for sale, as agent for Akron, to distributors of Akron located in various countries including Sweden. In affirming a finding that the profits from the sales constituted income of Akron from a "trade exercised within the United Kingdom" notwithstanding that master distributorship agreements between Akron and the distributors were made outside the U.K., Lord Radcliffe stated (p. 143):

The sales to look at ... were the dealings which took place in the course of trade between Brentford and the Swedish distributor, and those dealings consisted of invitations to trade received by Brentford in England, the manufacture or appropriation of stock in England in response to those invitations, the delivery of the stock free alongside vessel in England in discharge of the order, and the receipt of the payment in a bank in England. These operations constituted the exercising of a trade in England.

The Court affirmed a finding that sales by the taxpayer, which was a U.K. special-purpose manufacturing subsidiary of a U.S. corporation, were made by it as agent for the U.S. corporation.