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VAT update November 2018
In this month’s update we report on new regulations adopted by ECOFIN which are intended to combat VAT fraud, infringement proceedings brought against Italy and the UK following publication of the so-called “Paradise Papers” and publication of the response to HMRC’s consultation on the “split payment” method of VAT collection. We also comment on three recent decisions relating to the scope of the FTT’s jurisdiction in relation to public law issues, input tax recovery by a student union shop and application of the reverse charge rules to investment management services received from outside the EU.
Read morePatel – HMRC ordered to close enquiry which was "drifting aimlessly"
In Patel v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 0561 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) directed HMRC, pursuant to section 28A, Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA), to close its enquiry.
Read moreCustoms and excise quarterly update November 2018
In this update we report on HMRC’s guidance on how to prepare for the Customs Declaration Service, the launch of the Customs Declaration Service and HMRC’s guidance on trading with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit. We also comment on three recent cases relating to the calculation of gaming duty, tariff classification of seasoned chicken meat and mobility scooters.
Read moreTerraLex guide to tracing assets around the world 2018
We are delighted to present the TerraLex 2018 Guide to Tracing Assets Around the World.
Read moreRegulation of cryptocurrencies inches ever closer
The long awaited regulation of cryptocurrencies has moved one step closer, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announcing plans to consult on regulation before the clock strikes twelve on 31 December 2018. The news comes after pressure for regulation has grown following a $15 billion crash.
Read moreWealth and trusts quarterly digest
Welcome to our latest Wealth & Trusts digest. Our quarterly digest is specifically tailored for you and aims to provide up to date commentary, analysis and guidance on key sector developments. It is written by our wealth and trusts teams to assist you and your clients in responding to market trends and legal developments.
Read moreThe Barclays Case – Criminal Corporate Liability
The UK Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) final attempt to prosecute Barclays in connection with Qatari loans ended on October 26 with the rejection of its High Court application to reinstate criminal charges against the bank.
Read moreLetter of contract versus business common sense – latest from Court of Appeal
In the latest of a long line of higher court authorities debating the boundaries between black letter and more purposive approaches to contractual construction, the Court of Appeal has taken another step away from the high-water marks of the business common sense approach to contractual meaning.
Read moreThornton – Identifiable HMRC officer must determine penalties
In Robert, Adam and Dorothy Thornton (trading as A* Education) v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 568 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has held that penalties for failure to file employment intermediaries returns (EIRs) were invalidly issued, as they had not been made by an identifiable officer of HMRC under section 100, Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA).
Read moreAnti-money laundering legislation meets the art market
The art market is often described as the last unregulated market. Even if that is true, it is set to change in the next couple of years, with the market being brought firmly within the ambit of European Union anti-money laundering legislation.
Read moreHong Kong's Court of Final Appeal rules on fraudulent or deceptive conduct in share dealings
In another landmark case for the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal has ruled on the ambit of section 300 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 – the Ordinance), and confirmed that it covers insider trading in shares listed outside Hong Kong.
Read moreCrypto Assets and ICOs as seen by the SMSG - Part 2
On 19 October 2018, the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) published a report on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto assets. The report is a useful one-stop shop for relevant definitions, classifications and statistics and we summarise the highlights in this two-part series.
Read moreInterest-only mortgages - the new PPI?
A new wave of complaints is hitting the mortgage market, concerning interest-only mortgages taken out before the financial crisis. Why is this happening and what should we look out for?
Read moreLSB approves SRA’s revolution in legal services regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new regulatory arrangements were approved by the Legal Services Board on 6 November 2018. Part of the changes will allow solicitors of England & Wales to sell legal advice to the public from within unregulated firms, as long as they steer clear of reserved legal activities such as conveyancing and litigation. These firms will not be regulated by the SRA and will not need to take out full SRA-mandated professional indemnity insurance. These new kinds of legal practice offer unique opportunities for competition with big law firms, and for in-house legal teams to be converted from a cost to a profit centre. RPC has exceptional degree of experience in advising on innovation in the the provision of legal services.
Read moreGriffiths – appeal against HMRC penalties allowed as notice to file was invalid
In Griffiths v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 0527 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has allowed the taxpayer's appeal against penalties imposed by HMRC as HMRC's notice to file a tax return was invalidly issued and in any event, the taxpayer had a reasonable excuse for failing to submit his return.
Read moreFive ways the civil courts are fighting back against cybercrime
Service by text and data room, worldwide freezing orders against persons unknown, self-identification orders and hearings on paper and in private are ways the court is dealing with cyber-crime. Here are five ways that the courts are addressing the imbalance that exists between victims and criminals who seek to hide behind a veil of anonymity in this digital age.
Read morePart three: food for thought – some key features of the SMCR
Having laid out the basic architecture under the SMCR, this final part of the series looks more closely at various elements of the new regime, which we consider particularly noteworthy and which give rise to specific issues to be addressed.
Read moreJackie Doyle-Price appointed Minister for the Prevention of Suicides
What is the role of the Minister for the Prevention of Suicides, and how will her appointment impact Insurers?
Read moreSomething out of the ordinary (share capital)
The term ordinary share capital is widely used in UK tax provisions. While the term has a statutory definition a recent table by the Chartered Institute of Taxation shows how HMRC has interpreted it in practice.
Read moreSpeech is golden
With voice shopping projected to rise to £3.5 billion in UK sales by 2022, we consider how smart speakers are making waves and breaking barriers in the retail sector.
Read moreCrypto Assets and ICOs as seen by ESMA's SMSG
On 19 October 2018, ESMA's Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) published a report on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto assets. The report is a useful one-stop shop for relevant definitions, classifications and statistics and we summarise the highlights in this two-part series.
Read moreTech talent: To purchase or to hire…that is the question
When acquiring tech companies & their human talent, there are some key considerations that buyers should take into account when formulating their M&A strategy
Read moreGeneral liability newsletter November 2018
The latest general liability news coming out of the courts.
Read moreDrafting: you do the maths
Chartbrook v. Persimmon provides a good example of why contracts can benefit from worked mathematical formulae to aid courts in interpreting key contractual clauses.
Read moreTax update November 2018
In this month’s update we report on proposals under consideration by the Treasury to extend capital gains tax relief to private landlords, HMRC’s factsheet on new higher penalties that it can impose where taxpayers have failed to declare and pay tax in relation to offshore matters and the annual report of Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB). We also comment on three recent decisions relating to the partial writing-off of loans, Schedule 36 information notices and late filing penalties.
Read more"Loss" in Translation
IPEC judge lifts costs cap of £25,000 for an inquiry as to damages
Read moreManaging expectations: key considerations for early stage start-ups and their investors
Peter Sugden discusses "good leaver / bad leaver" provisions in early-stage venture capital investment to help explain key terms for start-up business.
Read morePart 2: What does the SMCR mean for me?
The new “Conduct Rules” are a minimum, basic standard of good personal conduct and behaviour applicable to all financial services personnel, and against which the FCA will hold individuals to account.
Read more#Ad-vice for Influencers and Brands: how to comply with CAP's new Influencer's Guide
To help influencers and brands comply with the legal requirements around influencer marketing the CAP issued An Influencer's Guide to making clear that ads are ads, developed in conjunction with the CMA.
Read moreReeves - CGT holdover relief available where transferor is foreign controller of transferee
In Reeves v HMRC [2018] UKUT 293 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal (UT) has held that a non-resident taxpayer was entitled to holdover relief from capital gains tax (CGT) on a disposal he had made when he gifted his interest in a limited liability partnership (LLP) to a UK-resident company, of which he was the sole shareholder.
Read moreHong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission to target cryptocurrency exchanges
The outgoing chairman of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (the “SFC”), Carlson Tong Ka-shing, has reportedly stated that the SFC is looking to extend its regulatory reach to Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency exchanges, which have so far been operating in a largely unregulated sphere.
Read moreVAT Update October 2018
In this month’s update we report on changes to the VAT treatment of supplies of digital services, the European Parliament’s adoption of changes which are intended to simplify VAT for small businesses and the European Commission’s proposals for VAT rates and intra-EU supplies. We also comment on three recent decisions relating to the VAT option to tax a property third party access to documents filed at the First-tier Tribunal and the validity of Alternative Dispute Resolution agreements that are wrong in law.
Read morePart 1: What is the SMCR?
The Senior Managers & Certification Regime (“SMCR”) will replace the FCA’s existing approved persons regime and represents a paradigm shift in the financial services industry in the UK.
Read moreReflections on the UK Bribery Act seven years on
Following the appearance of RPC's Sam Tate at the annual IBA conference earlier this month, where he joined a panel of experts discussing Corruption and Corrupt Contracts, here are our reflections on how the Bribery Act has changed the landscape of bribery offences and corporate criminal liability, first published by the IBA earlier this year and now updated.
Read moreProfessional Game Match Officials – football referees not employed for tax purposes
In Professional Game Match Officials Ltd v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 528, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has held that football referees and other match day officials were not employees of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL).
Read moreStephen Hawking's big questions for Life Sciences
Stephen Hawking's posthumously published "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" is a fascinating foretelling of legal challenges that the life sciences sector may face.
Read moreHMRC cannot require an auditor to provide information regarding a taxpayer's audited accounts even if the auditor also acts as the taxpayer's tax accountant
In HMRC ex parte a Taxpayer [2018] UKFTT 541 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has held that paragraph 24, Schedule 36, Finance Act 2008 (FA 2008), protects a taxpayer's auditor, who also prepares and files the taxpayer's tax returns, from having to disclose information and documents to HMRC regarding the taxpayer's audited accounts.
Read moreInformation requirements to change under European communications contracts
The rules around what needs to be provided to consumers under communications contracts are going to be changing under the new European Electronic Communications Code. This will have implications for consumer contracts provided by communication providers in Europe, including broadband, voice and "over the top" providers.
Read moreCorporate tax update
Welcome to the latest edition of our Corporate Tax Update, written by members of RPC’s tax team and published quarterly. In this third 2018 edition we highlight some of the key tax developments of interest to UK corporates from the third quarter of 2018.
Read moreFCA proposes FOS award limit increase to £350,000
The FCA has announced plans for an increase in the current FOS compensation cap. Currently standing at £150,000, the changes would see the limit increase to £350,000, an increase of 133%. It is also proposed that the limit will further increase automatically each year in line with inflation.
Read moreOil or nothing: Court of Appeal considers damages in continuing misrepresentation claim
The Court of Appeal recently held that a director who had made continuing fraudulent misrepresentations was liable for damages calculated at the point of sale and not at the point of entering into the contract. This judgment is a reminder that, in the right case, deceit may be used to pierce the corporate veil. It also highlights the considerations when assessing damages regarding continuing representations, particularly when there is time between the representation being made and the performance of the contract.
Read moreDone Brothers – supplies through fixed odds betting terminals exempt from VAT
In Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 406 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has held that supplies made through fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) are exempt from VAT.
Read moreWhat's next for the FCA after Brexit?
Brexit - you can rarely go a day without hearing this word. But what does it mean in real terms for financial professionals? The FCA has acknowledged that a looming Brexit will have implications for how the FCA works in the future and has begun to discuss its plans.
Read moreMeet your new loss adjustor: the drone
Listed by Lloyd's in 2016 as an 'emerging risk', drones have caught insurers' attention in the last few years. However, the potential benefits for the industry go further than the new capital received from premiums.
Read moreAtherley - qualifying loan write off created an allowable loss
In Douglas Atherley v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 0408 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has found that the taxpayer's partial writing-off of a loan made to a company of which he was the sole shareholder, created an allowable loss under section 253(3), Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA).
Read moreCourt of Appeal enforces fraudster’s claim against lawyers
In Stoffel & Co v Maria Grondona the Court of Appeal applied Lord Toulson’s judgment in Patel v Mirza to permit a fraudulent mortgagor to enforce her claim against her conveyancing solicitors. There may though be stronger grounds for the defence in other claims against professionals.
Read moreThe Latin American challenge – a London market perspective
If the London market wants to maintain its leadership in the region, London reinsurers need to look at ways to improve direct communication with local players.
Read moreRelief for Skilled Persons as the Court of Appeal rules they are not amenable to judicial review
In what circumstances might skilled persons appointed under FSMA be subject to judicial review? The Court of Appeal recently explored the vulnerability of skilled persons to judicial review and dismissed an application for judicial review against KPMG, acting as a skilled person on behalf of Barclays Bank, as it found the framework in which KPMG operated was not sufficient to bring it into the public law arena.
Read moreSFC Disciplinary Action – Customer/Personal Data
On 20 September 2018, the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) banned an individual named Ngo Wing Chun from re-entering the industry for 12 months (the “Decision”) for having taken the personal data of approximately 995 customers from his employer and emailed it to his personal email. The evidence showed that none of the information had been disclosed to any third parties.
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