HMRC barristers.
Specialist counsel for HMRC enquiries, discovery assessments, penalty appeals and tax tribunal representation. Instructed by individuals, accountants, in house teams and any law firm on the taxpayer side.
Counsel on the taxpayer side of HMRC disputes
Clerk and Counsel places HMRC barristers on the taxpayer side of enquiries, assessments and tribunal appeals. The panel is built for the full HMRC dispute cycle, from the first Schedule 36 information notice through discovery assessments, closure notice applications, penalty appeals and statutory review, into the First-tier Tax Tribunal and beyond.
HMRC now runs enquiries with more data, more automation and shorter response windows than at any time in the last twenty years. That has changed how counsel is used. Instead of instructing tax counsel only at tribunal, taxpayers and their advisers are bringing counsel into the enquiry itself, to shape the disclosure, to hold HMRC to the correct statutory footing and to keep every argument open for a later appeal.
We work with any law firm needing HMRC counsel, with accountancy practices dealing with HMRC on behalf of clients, and directly with taxpayers under Public Access. The HMRC barrister can be instructed for a written opinion, for drafting responses to HMRC, for statutory review representations, for the Notice of Appeal and for the hearing itself.
HMRC enquiries, assessments and appeals
Schedule 36 information notices
Responses to HMRC information notices, appeals against penalty for non compliance and challenges to third party notices.
Discovery assessments
Challenges to discovery assessments under Section 29 TMA 1970, staleness arguments and challenges to the extended time limits.
Closure notice applications
Applications under Section 28A TMA 1970 to force HMRC to close a long running enquiry.
Penalty appeals
Behavioural penalty appeals, careless and deliberate arguments, reasonable excuse and special reduction under Schedule 24 FA 2007.
Accelerated payment and follower notices
Challenges to accelerated payment notices, partner payment notices and follower notices under FA 2014.
Code of Practice 8 and 9 investigations
Contractual Disclosure Facility outline and full disclosures, denials and CDF exit routes.
Statutory review and ADR
HMRC statutory reviews and Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation with HMRC officers.
First-tier and Upper Tribunal appeals
Full tribunal representation from Notice of Appeal to substantive hearing at Taylor House and regional centres, and Upper Tribunal appeals at the Rolls Building.
Members of our HMRC panel
Members of our panel include junior tax counsel of five to ten years call for HMRC correspondence, penalty appeals and one day tribunal hearings, senior juniors for multi day appeals and technically demanding written opinions, and silks for the largest HMRC litigation and lead cases in the Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
Panel counsel come from leading tax and commercial chambers, from the Government Legal Department where several have previously acted for HMRC, and from the tax teams of major accountancy firms. That mix matters, because knowing how HMRC actually builds and progresses a case internally is often the difference between an appeal that runs and an appeal that settles.
When an HMRC case comes in, we shortlist counsel by hearing date, tribunal, subject matter and budget. If HMRC has instructed leading counsel then the shortlist matches that seniority. Where HMRC is still at the correspondence stage, a well pitched junior at the right price point is usually the right first call.
HMRC deadlines and statutory clocks
Almost every step in an HMRC dispute is on a statutory clock. Notices of Appeal to the tribunal must be filed within thirty days of the appealable decision. Statutory review requests run on the same window. Information notice appeals are also thirty days. Miss any of them and the substantive dispute is at real risk before it has even started.
Panel counsel can usually be engaged within a working week for short deadline HMRC correspondence and Notice of Appeal drafting. Where the deadline is imminent, a same day appointment for junior counsel to file a protective Notice is often possible. Full tribunal preparation is set up on the tribunal timetable once the case is allocated.
Fixed fee HMRC advice and representation
Every fee is agreed in writing before any work begins. A written opinion on an HMRC decision typically runs between seven hundred and three thousand pounds plus VAT depending on complexity. Drafting a Notice of Appeal is usually eight hundred to two thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT. Hearing fees run from around one thousand pounds plus VAT for short case management hearings to three thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT for a full day tribunal appeal at junior level, with refreshers for longer cases.
Long running HMRC enquiries, particularly Code of Practice 8 and 9 cases, are quoted stage by stage rather than as a single fixed fee. That way the client always sees the next number before any further work is authorised.
HMRC barristers, common questions
What is an HMRC barrister?
An HMRC barrister is specialist tax counsel instructed to defend taxpayers against HMRC. That covers responding to enquiries, challenging assessments and penalties, making closure notice applications and representing the taxpayer at the First-tier and Upper Tax Tribunals.
When should I bring HMRC counsel into an enquiry?
The moment an enquiry moves beyond routine information requests, or when HMRC signals that an assessment or penalty is likely. Early counsel input keeps the disclosure strategy clean and protects arguments that would otherwise be lost by concession in correspondence.
Can HMRC counsel be instructed directly by a taxpayer?
Yes. Under Public Access, individual taxpayers, companies, accountants and in house teams can instruct HMRC counsel directly without a solicitor for advice, HMRC correspondence and tribunal representation.
Do HMRC barristers deal with penalties as well as tax?
Yes. Behavioural penalty appeals, suspension applications, reasonable excuse arguments and challenges to accelerated payment notices and follower notices are core HMRC work for panel counsel.
What does an HMRC appeal usually cost?
Written advice on an HMRC decision starts from around seven hundred pounds plus VAT. Drafting a Notice of Appeal typically sits between eight hundred and two thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT. Full day tribunal hearings run from two thousand pounds plus VAT for junior counsel.