Natasha Barnes

Tax

Natasha’s practice covers litigation and advice across all areas of indirect tax. She has a particular specialism in challenges brought by way of judicial review, and regularly appears alone before the Court of Appeal, High Court, Upper Tax Tribunal and in high value appeals heard in the First-tier Tax Tribunal. She is recommended as a leading junior by both Chambers & Partners (Band 2) and Legal 500 (Band 3).

Natasha has considerable experience of cross-examination and of cases involving expert witnesses. Her cases have involved the interpretation of EU directives, fiscal neutrality, the place of supply, triangulation, human rights in relation to tax law, the excise warehousing scheme and the alcohol wholesaler registration scheme.

Selected Cases

• Introduction of VAT on private school fees (2024): Instructed by the taxpayer to advise in respect of a judicial review challenge to the Government’s decision to introduce VAT on public school fees.
• XX v HMRC (2024): Successfully appeared for the taxpayer in an application to reinstate an appeal that had been struck out for repeated non-compliance. Substantive appeal against HMRC’s decision to issue high-value input tax assessments to be heard in late 2025.
• YY v HMRC (2024): Instructed by the taxpayer in an application to appeal out of time in an appeal worth over £20 million.
• ZZ v HMRC (2024): Acting on behalf of a healthcare company in a challenge to HMRC’s decision to issue an open market value direction.
• Borough Council of King’s Lynn v HMRC [2022] UKUT 00326: Acting on behalf of a local authority in the Upper Tribunal in a challenge to HMRC’s decision concerning the correct VAT treatment of pay-as-you-go parking.
• DFS v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 153: Lead counsel in 2-week high-value VAT partial exemption dispute between HMRC and DFS (a FTSE company with £1 billion annual turnover).
• Success on behalf of taxpayer in a judicial review challenge to HMRC’s failure to allow late amendments to a tax return.
• Ampleaward Ltd v HMRC [2021] EWCA Civ 1459: Lead counsel in Court of Appeal case concerning the lawfulness of the ‘fall back’ provisions relating to acquisition tax due on cross-border supplies. In giving judgment, the Court of Appeal praised Natasha’s ‘outstandingly able’ reply.
• KSM Henryk Zeman v HMRC [2021] UKUT 182: Sole counsel in an important Upper Tribunal appeal concerning whether the FTT has jurisdiction to consider public law arguments in an appeal.
• MCL v HMRC [2021] UKUT 292: Sole counsel in a 2-day appeal concerning when a supplier can establish that its customer was ‘usually resident’ outside the Community.
• LGT v HMRC [2021] UKUT 36: Appeal concerning whether supplies of family accommodation placements were exempt from VAT as ‘welfare supplies’.
• Life Services v HMRC [2020] 1 WLR 2828: Success in lead cases before the Court of Appeal addressing whether supplies could be treated differently for VAT purposes across the devolved nations.
• R (on the application of Seabrook Warehousing Ltd) v HMRC [2019] EWCA Civ 1357: Success in Court of Appeal arising out of a judicial review challenge that the due diligence requirements imposed on alcohol traders were unlawful and disproportionate.
• Advised in a £50 million VAT dispute concerning the correct treatment of supplies across a corporate group.
• XX v HMRC: Appeal concerning extent to which one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies can recover input tax on supplies of marketing services under the Tour Operators Margins Scheme.
• Greencyc v HMRC: Lead counsel in MTIC appeal.

Financial Services

Natasha has experience acting for both the FCA and foreign regulators.

Selected Cases

• Rudolfs Veiss v Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority [2023] QIC (RT) 3: Junior counsel for QFC Regulatory Authority in appeal by insurance mediator against the imposition of a $500,000 penalty and a 5 year prohibition on carrying out any function in the Qatar Financial Centre.