Tax

Tax litigation is a core part of our work. We have historic and extensive experience across the whole spectrum of indirect tax.

The team is led by Owain Thomas QC and members of chambers have experience in all forms of domestic tribunals from the First-tier Tribunal to the Supreme Court as well as the CJEU. Recently, this has included:

• Three High Court injunction reviews regarding the ‘Alcohol Wholesalers registration scheme.
• Court of Appeal case concerning ‘Talacre’ carve out (Case C-251/05) Talacre Beach Caravan Sales Ltd v Customs and Excise Comrs [2006] STC.
• Supreme Court judgment on third party consideration in Airtours Holidays Transport Limited v HMRC.
• Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2017] UKSC 26.
• Successful judicial review challenge on behalf of the Locum Doctors Union, via the pre-action protocol, to NHS Improvement’s purported prohibition on personal service companies in light of the new public sector IR35 rules.
• Case heard in the CJEU to determine cultural exemption from VAT.
• Ongoing advisory work in relation to employee benefit trusts (EBTs) and alternative dispute resolution/litigation settlement strategy, as well as Code of Practice 9 (COP9) enquiries.

Chambers acts for both HMRC and taxpayers in cases involving VAT, Customs Duties, Excise Duties, Landfill Tax and Ratings. Chambers is unusual in that it has particular expertise in both litigation in the tax Tribunals and appellate courts, as well as a forensic specialism in all aspects of judicial review.

As one of the leading sets in public and administrative law, our tax expertise has a unique and complimentary public law parallel. Members of 1COR’s tax team are regularly instructed by both taxpayers and HMRC in judicial review challenges involving accelerated payment notices, questions of jurisdiction, enforcement and territoriality, as well as broader based public law challenges involving discrete aspects of tax administration.

We accept instructions from solicitors, accountants, corporate executives, and taxpayers alike.

Our Members have authored two chapters in the looseleaf Sweet & Maxwell publication ‘Value Added Tax, Commentary and Analysis’, published in September 2009. This provides an in-depth analysis of VAT law and includes an extensive section on judicial review in tax matters.

Our team is highly regarded by legal directories; “although particularly well known for representing the Revenue in high-profile VAT litigation, this set has increased its work acting on behalf of private entities. It handles the full range of indirect tax issues, and undertakes a good deal of tax tribunal work and public law challenges. Its members have handled a variety of cases in the past year involving such issues as VAT relief, abuse law as it relates to tax avoidance and customs duty classification.” (Chambers & Partners)